Run Away
by Queen Arabia
Summary: AU: Hiccup flies away on Toothless after Astrid defeated the Nadder in the ring.
1. Three Years Ago

**Author's Note: This is an AU, and in this case that means the dragon raid happened earlier in the year than it did in the movie. I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you, but someone told me that (I'm quoting now) "he would not have made friends with a dragon, and make a new tail in the time frame of some minutes." So yeah... The person was an Anon, so I couldn't really explain this privately. :)**

* * *

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" Astrid was furious. "Our parent's war is about to become _ours_," If that _fishbone_ had been paying attention like he should have been, she would have _killed_ that dragon. "Figure out which side you're on!" She thrust her axe at the small figure curled on the ground.

She glared at him as he peered up at her, preparing to continue her rant. "You had NO right-" Astrid got no farther than that.

Her target had stumbled to his feet, glancing nervously at her before running out of the Training Ring. Her eyes narrowed. He wasn't getting away that easily. "_HICCUP_! GET BACK HERE!" She screamed, sprinting after him.

Hiccup threw a glance over his shoulder as he ran, stumbling and almost running into something as he did so. He wasn't sure why he'd run away like that...

Run away... His eyes widened. Of course! He could run away from Berk, live on some other island with Toothless. They wouldn't have to worry about getting caught, and Hiccup wouldn't have to leave his dragon's side. It wasn't as if anyone here would miss him. His problems were solved. But first, he had to get rid of Astrid. Was she still following him? Yes, she was.

He changed his course immediately, weaving through the marketplace. He had an advantage there, with his small stature. He needed to go to the forge first. He narrowly dodged a viking with a wheelbarrow, dashing into an alley way. He could still hear Astrid yelling at him, but her voice was fading a bit. Good, he was losing her. He made it out of the twisting maze of houses in record time and slowed as he reached the forge.

"Okay... I'll need a basket, and some leather..." He grabbed a woven basket and shoved several tanned hides into it. He knew he didn't have much time, so he grabbed everything he could. "Needle, thread... I'll need my tools, too... I don't think anyone else wants them anyway... Ah, my work apron... Some charcoal, _paper!_ I need paper..." He looked around frantically, and eventually just swept everything off his desk into the basket.

He looked around one more time, then peeked out the door. Sure enough, Astrid was storming towards the forge, scowling angrily. Hiccup took a second to think about how _pretty_ she looked when she was mad, then crept out the back door. He waited until Astrid burst into the building before taking off again, headed for his house. He needed spare clothes, and he had to pick up his notebook. Good thing he left the riding gear in the Cove. Oh, he had to get every drawing he had of Toothless, too. Didn't want anyone seeing those...

He was pretty sure Astrid had learned some of the colourful phrases she was screaming from the twins. He was also sure the entire village could hear her at the moment. He panted as he ran. Why did his house have to be at the top of a hill? He risked another glance back.

"I AM GOING TO _KILL_ YOU! NOBODY RUNS AWAY FROM ME!" Astrid screamed. She looked for the slight figure, spotting him as he disappeared into his home, carrying something. "Hiccup! GET BACK HERE!" She was glad Stoick wasn't home. He probably wouldn't take kindly to her barging into his house like she was about to.

She raised her axe and charged up the hill with a Viking war cry. It was for show, of course. She wasn't going to chop up the Chief's door, or anything like that. Just his son. She turned the doorknob and entered, suddenly remembering she hadn't actually been IN the Chief's house before...

She looked around. Stoick's house looked pretty much like anyone else's, but it was bigger. _Much_ bigger. She hurried up the stairs to the loft, because she hadn't seen any sign of Hiccup downstairs.

Her eyes widened. Hiccup's room was not bare, as she'd assumed it would be. Paper covered the walls, desk, and even the bed. Astrid's mouth dropped open. Hiccup could draw. She shook herself out of the reverie. She could make Hiccup show her his drawings later, she had to catch him now. She checked under the bed. Nothing. She shivered slightly as a breeze ruffled her hair. Wait... A breeze? She turned to the wall with a window and cursed. It was open and she just caught a glimpse of brown as it hurried into the trees.

It took her no time to reach the ground, having taken the same route as Hiccup. She sprinted into the forest, cursing. She almost lost him several times. He ducked past a rock several yards ahead of her and she couldn't see him anymore. She ran forward, almost there...

Then she heard it. Wing beats. Dragon. She cursed again, hitting the ground as she'd been taught. If you aren't prepared to defend yourself, hide. Astrid didn't have a shield to protect herself with.

Then she thought of Hiccup. Skinny, weak Hiccup who couldn't have defended himself from a dragon if he'd wanted to. He was completely unprotected. Astrid pushed herself to her feet and sprinted faster than ever before with a new goal in mind. Protect Hiccup. If anything happened to him, Stoick would break. It had happened before, when Valhallarama died. They'd been without a Chief for months. Astrid feared if it happened again, he might not recover.

"Hiccup!" She ducked past the rock and stopped, scanning the beautiful cove in front of her. There was nothing there, but Astrid wasn't stupid, and she could easily see something had been there. And not just anything, either. A dragon had been here. Claw marks marred the rocks and the ground was charred in places. She scrambled down to the bottom and looked around, frowning. There wasn't any way in or out besides the way she'd entered.

"_Hiccup_! Get out here!" She called, hoping he'd respond. He didn't. She began walking around, looking for him. The dragon seemed to have gone away, so her confidence returned in force.

She frowned when she caught sight of a shield stuck between two rocks. Was that what he'd gone to the forge for? A trickle of dread filled her heart. Did Hiccup come here to fight the dragon? He wouldn't stand a chance against a Terrible Terror, let alone whatever had taken up residence here. Wait... Was that a dragon scale? It was. Astrid's eyes widened. _"...Okay, but I got a Night Fury. It's not like the last few times, Dad, I really actually hit it, it went down just off Raven Point. Lets get a search party out there, before..."_ He hadn't been lying? She stared at the dark scale in her hand. He'd actually got it. But... Now it seemed more like it got him.

She looked down. No one had believed Hiccup when he told them about the Night Fury. If they had, would things be different? Something glinting in the shallows of the lake caught her eye. Metal? She walked over to it and her heart nearly stopped as her suspicions were confirmed. That was Hiccup's dagger.

He always carried it with him, tucked into his vest. There was no way it could have fallen out.

But if he'd dropped it when trying to defend himself... Astrid suddenly felt like she was going to cry. She held back the tears like any Viking would, and thought about the scrawny son of the Chief. He caused so much trouble, but... never on _purpose_. He only ever wanted to help. If anyone deserved to die, it wasn't Hiccup. Astrid wished the dragon had taken Mildew the Unpleasant instead. Nobody would have mourned _him_.

She took one more look around the clearing and ran back to the village, her expression grim. She had to tell the tribe about this.

* * *

Gobber waited patiently for the ship to dock. It was two weeks since Astrid came running into the village square screaming that Hiccup had been taken by a dragon and they'd volunteered him to tell Stoick about it. He watched as the beaten vessel bumped up against the pier and Vikings becan pouring out. He saw the Chief then, face stony, and wished he didn't have to say anything.

"Well... I trust you found the nest, at least?" He asked hopefully. If Stoick found the nest, maybe he'd be distracted from his grief.

"Not even close."

No such luck, thought Gobber. "Ah. Excellent."

"Hope you had a little more success than me." Gobber winced. He'd hoped his friend wouldn't ask.

"Well... If by success you mean your parenting troubles are over with, then... Yes?" Gobber was never good at subtlety, but he was trying his best.

Stoick looked at him, but before he could say anything, Helga trotted past on her way to help unload the boat. "Congratulations Stoick! Everyone's so relieved!"

Gobber cringed. This wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. More Vikings rushed past, each shouting something helpfully at the Chief.

"Ou' with the old, 'n in with the new, eh Stoick?"

"No one'll miss tha' old nuisance!"

"The village is throwin' a party to celebrate!"

Stoick frowned, looking at Gobber. "He's gone?"

Gobber figeted. "Um... Ehh, yeah. Young Astrid Hofferson came runnin' inta th' square bou' two weeks ago wi' th' news. He was taken by a... Night Fury. 'Strid took us t' a cove, an' we found claw marks, charred ground... Black scales. There was a shield, lodged between two rocks, an Astrid found the boy's dagger in the water. We searched, bu' there was nothin' else t' find."

"No... Not Hiccup, no, no... They got Valhallarama, they can't- Not Hiccup too, not my son..." Stoick whispered brokenly, staring at Gobber. He turned suddenly and stomped towards his home. Gobber looked after him worriedly.

"Well tha' went well..." He muttered. Then frowned. Sarcasm made him think of Hiccup and he'd _really_ been fond of the boy. If only they'd listened to him. Then he wouldn't have gone to kill a Night Fury with nothing but a dagger.

Stoick's mood wouldn't improve when he learned that all the training dragons escaped just a week after the Night Fury took his son.


	2. We're Going Fishing

"Toothless, I'm gonna go have a nap, okay?" Hiccup called to the black dragon who was enjoying his lunch. Without waiting for an answer, he ducked into his somewhat cluttered room and lay down on his oversized mattress, staring up at the ceiling. In the three years since he'd run away Hiccup had made a good deal of things.

Most were meant to make life more comfortable for him and his dragon. And more recently, also for a sheep he'd identified as being Gobber's. He hadn't known who's sheep he was taking when he'd asked Toothless to swoop in and grab it, but it _was_ amusing to hear the old blacksmith blathering on about trolls stealing things as he flew off.

He'd camouflaged his new home by weaving thick leafy vines into a net and draping them over everything so dragons wouldn't raid him, and created a sheep pen for Phil, and helped Toothless find a slab of rock for his bed. The dragon had found a slightly smaller slab for Hiccup in thanks, and he hadn't had the heart to reject the gift. That was when he'd made his mattress.

He'd even crafted himself a bow and several arrows, as his dagger was lost in the lake at the Cove and when he'd eventually gone back to find it, it was gone. He liked the bow better, anyway.

But his most important breakthrough had been finding a way to sew Toothless's discarded dragon scales to cloth. Since then, he'd sewn scales to Toothless's artificial tailfin and more to his own clothing. Now it was impossible to tell from a distance which tailfin wasn't real, and Hiccup looked like he was half Night Fury with his scaled clothing.

He often wondered how everyone was doing on Berk. He supposed they were still being raided. Was his father alright? Hiccup hadn't seen him the last time he did a night flyover.

He'd seen Astrid though, and she was, for what he could see from that height, even more beautiful than before. And she still didn't like Snotlout, he thought gleefully, thinking of how she'd pushed the boy off last he'd seen.

He grinned. The twins still argued with each other, exchanging incredibly creative insults that could have won prizes. He hadn't seen Fishlegs lately, the nerd probably stayed inside reading. He drifted off to sleep, still smiling.

Astrid carefully packed everything she was going to need for the upcoming fishing trip. Gobber was taking them to one of the nearby islands, a place the Vikings didn't often visit. Apparently they needed to 'learn 'ow to survive outside o' civilization.'

She rolled her eyes at that. They were Vikings, they could take care of themselves. _She_ was going because Gobber was scheduled to take the other teens, and Astrid would not be upstaged by them. And there was always the chance of finding the dragon that took Hiccup.

If she killed that dragon, all her problems would go away. All the guilt she'd felt for not getting there fast enough to protect him would finally fade. And maybe so would that empty _something_ in her chest. She touched the black disk that hung around her neck and murmured. "I'm gonna get my revenge, dragon."

"Okay. I think I'm ready." She said to herself, closing the pack. She swung it over her shoulder and made her way down to the harbour. She was the first teen there by a few minutes, as usual. Gobber was busy making their ship seaworthy. Fishlegs got there next. No surprise there, he'd been looking forward to this trip for months. Then Snotlout sauntered onto the dock, claiming he'd been held up by adoring fans. The twins were there last, arguing as usual.

"A'right! Everybody on th' ship!" Gobber shouted. Everyone stowed their bags under the seats as they shoved off. Astrid tried to ignore the bickering twins and Snotlout's piteous attempts to woe her and focused on rowing.

The highlight of the next two days was when Ruff shoved her brother into Snotlout, who tumbled overboard, and she was the first one off the boat when they landed, glad for the chance to stretch. She looked around, noticing how different the terrain here was compared to that on Berk.

While Berk could be thought of as forested, there were large fields and patches of bare rock there to break it up. Here, the trees grew right off the cliffs in places. Hiccup would have liked it here, Astrid thought. He'd loved wandering through the forest for hours, immersed in his thoughts. She cursed herself. It had been three years, why couldn't she get him out of her head?

"I'm going to go train," Astrid declared suddenly, already headed for the trees. She needed to relieve some stress.

"A'righ', ye do tha' Astrid," Gobber said, unpacking his sleeping roll with a yawn even though it was only just past noon. "I'm gonna have a nap. Don' go too far, don' get lost, an' watch out for dragons an' wild boars."

"I will!" She called over her shoulder. It was only when she was out of sight that she realized she didn't feel like training. "Maybe a walk would be nice," She decided.

She wandered around for a bit, looking at the scenery. She didn't often have time to just relax, so this was really nice.

Then something on the forest floor caught her eye and she knelt down to get a better look. It was black and shiny. Just like...

Her hand flew to the scale around her neck. She'd

just found another Night Fury scale. Astrid pushed herself up and ran for the beach.

"Gobber! Gobber, WAKE UP!" She shouted impatiently. "GOBBER!"

Gobber jolted awake yelling, "Trolls! TROLLS! They're after me socks! Man th' catapults! Wha- Oh, i's you. I though' ye were off trainin'?" He pretended he hadn't just been

screaming about trolls.

"I found a scale. The dragon is on this island." Astrid didn't have to say anything else. Gobber already knew what dragon she was talking about.

"Well, why didn' ye say so, lass?! Let's get th' others t'gether." He turned around and squinted at the cliff side a ways away. "Aye, there they are." He muttered. "SNOTLOUT!

TWINS! GET YER BUTTS OVER HERE!" Astrid flinched at the sudden noise.

"What about Fishlegs?" She asked.

"Oh, th' lad's over there, playin' with somethin'." Gobber pointed in the general direction of the ocean. "FISHLEGS, YOU TOO!"

Once they were assembled, Snotlout raised a dripping wet hand. "So, why'd we have to come back so quickly?" Tuffnut had been pushed into him by his sister when Gobber called them and he'd fallen into the water again.

"Oh, ye don' want to be a part o' the dragon hunt?"

Snotlout straightened immediately. "Of- Of course I do! Wait... What dragon hunt?"

"There's a dragon here? Ooh, where'd you see it? What kind was it? I'm so glad I brought the Book of Dragons!" Fishlegs babbled.

"Look at this," Astrid butted in, holding out the black scale she found in the woods. "It matches. I kill this dragon, this is my revenge. Got it?"

"Whoa, so we're going after the dragon that killed Hiccup? Finally! And I wanna kill it, he was my cousin!" Snotlout protested. Fishlegs was staring at the scale in awe.

"Aye, an' ye took the mos' delight in tormentin' him. He was my apprentice, I'll kill th' dragon." Gobber said firmly. "Snotlout, Fishlegs, you search that way, twins, ye get that way, I'll go this way, an' Astrid, you take th' path ye were followin' earlier," Gobber said, pointing in various directions before stomping over to his pack to find his battle-axe attachment.


	3. Found

The twins took off, followed by Fishlegs and a grumbling Snotlout. Astrid took a deep breath and retraced her steps to the place she'd found the scale. There had to be a trail somewhere around there.

Sure enough, just a bit farther on, after crossing a stream, Astrid found footprints. They matched the ones she remembered seeing on Berk and she smiled grimly. "I'm gonna kill you, dragon..." She didn't see the faint trail of human prints beside them.

The trail ran for a few metres before petering out and Astrid looked around. She was standing in front of a rock wall, covered in tangled, leafy vines. Astrid narrowed her eyes and grabbed a vine. She was about to begin climbing when she noticed the gap where rock should have been. A cave?

She pushed the vines aside and marched in. She raised her axe, cursing it as she did, when she realized she could see light ahead of her. She was standing in a tunnel. Shaking off her surprise, she walked toward the light.

What she saw took her breath away. She was looking into a beautiful grotto. There was a stream running down the other side, past a huge slab of rock which stuck up at an odd angle, before disappearing under a rock. There must be a cave on the other side of the large rock, Astrid thought. Sunlight filtered through a canopy of tangled vines, held up by logs wedged in the rock wall.

She stepped onto the mossy ground and heard a growl from her left. She tightened her grip on the axe and faced the noise.

The legendary Night Fury was smaller than she'd expected, but no less ferocious. It had large, bat like wings and expressive eyes, narrowed menacingly at her. Astrid smiled. "Bring it on, dragon." She let out a Viking war cry and charged, only for it to jump away. She narrowed her eyes and prepared to attack again.

Just as she raised her axe, a voice rang out. "Astrid? Drop the... The axe or I'll shoot!"

She did drop her axe, mainly out of surprise. "Who said that?" She asked hesitantly, eying the dragon.

The voice didn't answer her immediately, growling at the dragon instead. Whatever he said to the creature made it stand down. "Astrid... You know who I am. I haven't been...Gone _that..._ Long, have I? I'm right... Behind you." Astrid whirled around and stared at the figure standing a few yards away from her, suddenly feeling very light-headed.

"Hiccup?" She couldn't keep the shock out of her voice.

He grinned. "I... Think so. Yeah, it's me Astrid. Um... You've met Toothless?" Astrid ignored the question. She couldn't wrap her head around it. Hiccup wasn't a fishbone anymore. Well, he was, but he was_ good-looking_. She blinked.

"I thought you were dead..." Was all she could say before she fainted.

Hiccup dropped his bow immediately and ran to her. "Oh, this isn't good, this really isn't good..." He muttered, panicking for a moment before gingerly scooping her up in his arms. Toothless blinked alarmedly and growled at the girl hanging limply in his friend's grasp. "Toothless, she won't hurt me. I told you, she's a friend. I have to get her inside, okay?"

Toothless stopped growling and lay down again as if the prettiest girl on Berk hadn't just fainted in front of him. Evidently, he was prepared to simply ignore her until further notice. Hiccup sighed and carried her toward what she'd thought to be a huge boulder sticking out of the ground. He'd done a good job of camouflaging his home, though it was a lot of work. Rounding the side, he stepped into the shade of the patio and from there into the house.

"I can't believe I almost forgot my own name," He muttered as he set her down gently on his bed, making sure she was comfortable. She looked so beautiful, lying there like that, Hiccup thought. He was prepared to wait there for her to wake up, but heard a surprised shout and a thud outside. "Of course," He muttered. "I have to deal with more than just one Viking on my island." He hoped Toothless had the sense to hide this time.

He made his way back outside and was slightly relieved to hear Gobber's voice and not his father's.

"Phil! I knew it was trolls tha' got ye!" The blacksmith seemed overjoyed to have found his missing sheep.

Hiccup figured it was as good a time as any to announce his presence. "Um. Sorry... Gobber, but it wasn't trolls." He said, stepping out of the shadows on his porch. "Just... Me."

Gobber spun around and gaped. "Hiccup? Tha' you, lad? I though' ye were gone fer good! ...Why'd ye have my sheep?" He paused. "An' why're ye wearin' tha'?"

Hiccup smiled, shrugging. "Needed a sheep. I didn't know it was... Yours when I took him." He looked down at his scaled cloak. "And... I thought I should... Match my best friend."

Gobber spluttered, forgetting the sheep. "Friend? Hiccup, those're dragon scales yer wearin'! What do ye mean, friend!?"

Hiccup's smile slipped a bit and he narrowed his eyes. "Drop your... Weapons and... Promise me you won't hurt him and maybe I'll... Show you." Gobber eyed him before cautiously unscrewing his battle axe attachment, letting it fall to the mossy ground.

"A'right, I trust ye, I won't hurt your... Friend."

Hiccup nodded, looking around for the telltale green eyes of his dragon and called out in Dragonese. "Toothless! There's someone I'd like you to meet, bud!" He grinned as the Night Fury bounded over to them.

"Hiccup, that's a dragon!" Gobber exclaimed, backing up and making Hiccup roll his eyes.

"Really? Hey... Bud, did you know you... Were a dragon?" He asked sarcastically in Norse. "Gobber, meet Toothless." Switching back to Dragonese, he addressed his dragon.

"Toothless, this is Gobber, the blacksmith. I told you about him, remember? I was his apprentice."

"I remember," Toothless replied.

"Hiccup..." Gobber was confused by the odd noises his apprentice was making. Then he squinted at something on Toothless's back. "Is tha' a saddle?"

"Yes... It is." Hiccup stated proudly. "My... Dad was... Right. I never was a... Dragon killer."


	4. Fetch

They were silent for a moment.

Gobber broke the silence. "You were tellin' tha' truth after tha' raid, weren't ya... What in Thor's name made you decide t' _tame_ a _Night Fury_?!" Hiccup hesitated, frowning slightly at his dragon's tail, not sure how to answer. Luckily, Gobber wasn't quite done asking questions. "So... Ye ride tha' thing?"

"Toothless isn't... A 'thing,' Gobber." Hiccup replied absently. "And yeah, I do. I'll... Save the story for after I've... caught all the... Vikings that landed here. I'm only... Going to say this... Um..." Hiccup faltered, having forgotten the word he needed. "So... Would you know... Who came?"

Gobber nodded, nervously inching away as Toothless sniffed him curiously. "It's jus' me an' the teens, we came here for a fishin' trip."

Hiccup grimaced slightly, cursing in Dragonese. "Great... Um... Snotlout and the... Twins find out about the... Biggest, um... Secret of my life. Wonder how_ that'll_ go," He said, scowling.

"They're not tha' bad." Gobber waved him off.

"The last time I saw... My cousin he said I was... Useless and pushed me into a mud... Puddle." Hiccup deadpanned. "Going to catch them now..."

"'Strid won't appreciate bein' snatched by a dragon," Gobber warned. Hiccup smiled at his mentor.

"Astrid's... Not a problem. She's lying on my, um... Bed, asleep." He frowned. "She, um... Fainted when she... Saw me." He wasn't quite sure what to think of that. The girl he'd liked forever, fainting at the very sight of him?

"Well, in tha' case..." Gobber said, looking around for some sort of house but not seeing anything.

"Don't tell them I'm... Alive," Hiccup told Gobber, who was actually a pretty good actor. "I want to see their... Reactions." Gobber nodded, confused.

C'mon, bud. Let's go play fetch." Hiccup murmured in Dragonese, hopping into the well-worn saddle. They shot through a gap in the netting and into the sky. Hiccup scanned the beaches first and saw a familiar hulking figure pouring over a book. "There's Fishlegs! Go get 'im, Toothless!"

Fishlegs had no time to react before he was dangling a hundred feet in the air. "Oh my gods! It got me! IT GOT ME!" He screamed, hiding his eyes. Toothless let go when they soared directly over the hidden grotto, leaving Fishlegs to fall about thirty feet to the ground. Not so high as to cause any serious injury to the boy, but high enough to knock the wind out of him.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut were next, with Tuff screaming about how hurt he was until Ruff interrupted him with "This's AWESOME!" Typical twin behavior. They were dropped into the grotto the same way Fishlegs had been, though they had the luck of landing on the larger teen, sending him to the ground again.

"Only one left is Snotlout," Hiccup muttered, patting his dragon. Toothless warbled, having caught the scent of Hiccup's cousin. "Go get 'im, bud." Hiccup encouraged. Toothless dove into the trees and plucked the young Viking off his feet, making him drop his weapon in shock.

"Wha- Oh no no nonono! No! Stupid dragon! I have my whole life in front of me! Put me down!" Snotlout wailed, clutching at the foot Toothless was holding him with.

When they reached the grotto, they dove inside, dropping Snotlout just before they landed behind a boulder. Hiccup crouched down against Toothless so the scales on his cloak matched with Toothless's and hid him from sight. Not that anyone saw them land, of course. He directed Toothless up onto the rock.

"Oh, the dragon got you too?" Fishlegs asked Snotlout, helping him up.

"Yeah. I'm going to kill that thing... Where'd my mace go?" Fishlegs shrugged as Snotlout searched for his missing weapon. "When I'm done with that dragon it'll regret _touching_ me..."

Toothless laughed at the thought of Snotlout actually catching him, and accidentally let them know he was there. They spun around, searching for weapons that had been dropped when their owners were snatched up.

"Um, what're we gonna do now?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

Tuffnut stared hard at the Night Fury. "...Can I pet it?" His sister punched him.

"Dimwit, it's a _dragon_. It probably wants to eat us!" She said, then paused, thinking about it. "Wait... That'd be so cool."

"I know, right?" They grinned at each other._ Nothing_ better for sibling bonding than getting kidnapped by a Night Fury, Hiccup thought sarcastically.

"I'm still gonna kill it..." Snotlout said, clenching his fists. He paused for a moment before adding, "With my_ face_."

"No, ye won't." Gobber told him firmly.

"Why not? It killed Hiccup! He was my cousin, and..." Snotlout hesitated. "Killing it would honor him, you know?"

Hiccup was startled. Snotlout wanted to honor him? He decided it was time to show himself, before Snotlout did something stupid. "No. ...Snotlout. Killing my... Dragon wouldn't... Honor me at all." He said, sitting up on Toothless's back.

Snotlout's eyes almost popped out of his head as he stared at Hiccup. "Is- Is that... Are you a draugr?" He squeaked. Everyone looked at Hiccup warily, as if expecting him to start moaning about doom or something.

Instead, he burst out laughing as he pulled the cloak's hood off his head. "A... draugr? Snotlout, I'm not... Even dead! Why would you... Think I was a draugr!?"

"But Astrid said the dragon...That dragon... And then we followed her to this cove, and she found your dagger in the water..." Snotlout hated being made a fool of. "You mean I spent three years, uh... Trying to avenge you for nothing!?"

Tuffnut giggled into his hand in what he considered a manly fashion. "You mean you spent three years crying over him, right?"

"No I didn't!" Snotlout insisted.

Hiccup grinned. He was actually enjoying this little reunion. "I'm... Gonna go... wake Astrid up." He slid off his dragon's back and grabbed a bucket from his porch. He filled it in the little stream and went inside.


	5. Explainations

A few seconds later, they heard a scream, followed by a loud 'Ow, ow ow!' as Astrid stormed out dripping wet, dragging Hiccup behind her.

When she got into the warm sunlight, she released him and spun around to face him. "You have some explaining to do,_ fishbone_," She spat, glaring.

"I, ah, I know... I do." Damn, Hiccup thought, he'd been sure he was over the stammering...

"Well? Get talking." Astrid demanded.

"Okay, I- Uh... It, um, started with the... Dragon raid, I... Guess. The one where I... Almost got eaten... By a Nightmare and made one of the... Torches fall," He clarified. "When I said I... Shot down a Night Fury, I was ah, telling the truth. And then my, um... Dad said I wasn't... A dragon killer, and sent me home..."

Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I... Snuck out of the house to prove him... Wrong, but I came back... Knowing he was right. What happened in the... Trees... I almost died in the trees, because I... Wouldn't kill a dragon." He glanced at Toothless. "I almost did. I found him... just off... Off, um... Raven Point, exactly like I said. He couldn't move, trapped in the... Bolas I, um... Launched at him."

"What happened?" Astrid asked. She sounded more curious than angry now, having been dragged into the story despite the odd way Hiccup was talking.

"Saw his eyes. He was..." Hiccup faltered, thinking. "He looked just as, um, scared as_ I_ did. I looked at him... And I saw... Myself." Hiccup fidgeted. "I cut him loose and he... Pounced... On me. Roared in my... Ear as loud as he could, then left. When I got home Dad told me I was in... Dragon training, just like I _always_ wanted." He said, managing to be sarcastic despite his halting speech.

"Tha' might be my fault..." Gobber muttered.

"Why didn't you just tell him you didn't want to anymore?" Ruff interrupted.

"I... _D__id_. Dad never listened to me. I... Told him... I couldn't kill dragons and he laughed it off. He made me... Agree, and then..."

"Oh, so tha's why ye were askin' all those questions about Night Furies, eh?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah... Come here, Bud. Dragon training helped, just not... How you thought it... Would." Toothless growled, staying where he was and Hiccup frowned, making an odd chuffing noise in his throat. Then the dragon rolled his eyes and walked over, curling his tail around himself. Hiccup huffed in satisfaction.

"Did he just..." Snotlout trailed off, amazed. He was slightly shocked when his cousin turned and _warbled_ questioningly at him. "Uh... Hiccup? What are you _doing_?"

Hiccup looked around confused, before his eyes widened. "Oh... I don't speak... Norse very well anymore, I usually speak Dragonese. Only using Norse for you." He explained, grinning crookedly. He warbled at Toothless, who lifted his tail and waved it in front of him. "Good boy." He said, unbuckling the artificial tailfin carefully. "When I shot him down, he lost... Tailfin. Toothless... Can't fly without me anymore."

"Eh, so tha's what ye were doin' in the forge tha' night!" Gobber exclaimed. Hiccup nodded, showing him how the prosthetic worked.

"Why don't you speak Norse well anymore, Hiccup?" Astrid was curious about that. What made someone forget their own language?

"Haven't used it in... Um... Since I left." He seemed to be having trouble with expressing time as well.

"Why'd you name him Toothless?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup grinned and warbled at Toothless. The dragon turned to look at Tuff in surprise, before very deliberately raising his lips in a toothless smile. Astrid gaped. "I thought- But- What? I thought I saw..." Hiccup laughed and suddenly growled. Toothless flashed his teeth, and when she jumped back both the dragon and the boy laughed.

"Thing I learned was that dragons have, um... Feelings and... Personalities too," Hiccup said as he buckled the tailfin back on. "They all laugh like that though."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes, remembering something from training three years ago. "Wait, so the day you ran away, that Nadder in the maze was_ laughing_ at me!?"

Hiccup nodded, smiling. "She was."

"She? How do you know it was a she?" Astrid asked curiously.

"She told me when I... Freed her, all the dragons you trapped were... Female." Hiccup answered. "I couldn't leave them..._ There _when I found out dragons are just... Mis... Misunderstood."

"What do you mean?" Astrid frowned. Dragons... Weren't evil? She was having a hard time wrapping her head around it, even with a docile Night Fury sitting right in front of her.

"Toothless took me to their... Island once. There's this... This thing there, it's a dragon... A dragon as large as a... Mountain." Hiccup struggled to communicate the immense size of the beast. "I call it the Red Death."

"Oh, it's just a dragon then? We can take it." Snotlout said confidently, winking at Astrid.

"This is unheard of! Imagine the stats of a dragon that big- There's nothing like it in the Book of Dragons!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "What do you think it eats?!"

"Oh, just... Everything it can," Hiccup said sarcastically. "Fish, sheep... Yaks..." He switched into Dragonese, warbling solemly.

"What are you saying?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup looked at him and repeated his words in broken Norse. "I saw... It swallow a Gronckle whole," He stated. "And it was... Still hungry. It got a Zippleback just as we flew... Out of the way."

Snotlout paled a bit. "Swallowed it... Whole?"

Hiccup nodded grimly. "If my... Dad ever got to the nest he wouldn't have a... Chance, even with all the... Vikings behind him."

Astrid looked like she'd been thinking hard. "Hiccup, that Nadder... Was it trainable too? I mean, if we can't destroy the Red Death by ourselves, then maybe if we worked _with_ dragons..." She trailed off hesitantly. After what she'd just heard, she was willing to try anything to stop the raids.

"Astrid, that's... Um, that's perfect!" Hiccup exclaimed. "I can take you... To where they made their new nest and help you... Train them!" He warbled excitedly at Toothless, relaying the plan to him. The dragon snapped his eyes wide open, staring at Astrid. A surprised warble came out of his own mouth and Hiccup grinned. "He says he thinks it might... Actually work. Come on!"

"Oh, no! Not 'till we've informed yer father, lad." Gobber said firmly. Hiccup stopped pulling Astrid toward Toothless.

"My dad? But he'll... Kill Toothless, no... I don't want him to... Know... He's... Probably too busy leading the... The tribe to care, anyway." He shook his head and furrowed his brows stubbornly.

"Hiccup, your dad hasn't been himself since you left Berk. He's barely_ eating_, let alone going outside and doing... Chiefly things." Astrid said, unsure what exactly a Chief did when he wasn't leading them in battle.

"What? But the... Village is... Everything to him, how could he just..." Hiccup trailed off. He couldn't believe his dad would abandon the village like that.

"He's doin' th' same thing he did after Val died. 'Cept then he still 'ad you t' take care of." Gobber said. "This time it's worse."

Hiccup frowned at the mention of his mother's death. He was shocked to hear how hard Stoick took his own 'death.' What happened to him being a disappointment? "Well... I guess I could... Come... But I won't leave Toothless." He scratched his dragon's head.

"We're no' leavin' for a bit, you'll figure somethin' out," Gobber said.

Hiccup thought for a moment, muttering to himself, then warbled questioningly at the man. Toothless nodded, clearly agreeing with whatever the boy had said, then chuffed at him and tossed his head in the direction of the Vikings. Hiccup realized what he was doing and switched to Norse. "Um, I said... 'How about me and Toothless help?'" He sighed at the confused looks he was getting and explained. "Dragons are good at... Fishing. We can get you a full load in... Um... A small bit of... Time, so you can leave here before... Dark."

"What about you and Toothless?" Snotlout asked. "There's no extra room on the boat."

Hiccup smirked. "Toothless is a Dragon... Snotlout. We'll fly there." He turned to Astrid. "Astrid, don't let them know how you got in here. It's an, um... A secret." He hopped on Toothless's back, strapping himself into the saddle. "See us at the... Beach!" He called as they took off.

When he was out of sight Snotlout sat down suddenly as everything sunk in. "My cousin's alive... Gods, he has a dragon!"

Astrid clenched her scale tightly. "He was alive the whole time..." She felt the hole inside her fade away and sighed. "Lets go home." She said, and the words had never sounded so nice.


	6. Family Reunion

"So, how are we getting out of here?" Fishlegs asked, looking around. Astrid smiled secretively and glanced towards the hidden tunnel.

"We climb out," Gobber answered. "It's th' only way."

It took them roughly two hours to clamber up to the rim of the grotto.

"So... Astrid." Snotlout started. "I was wondering if-" Astrid groaned mentally.

"No, Snotlout." She interrupted him. The walk to the ship was uneventful after that, but Astrid was relieved when they stepped onto the sand to find Hiccup and Toothless already waiting for them with a net full of cod.

She felt more comfortable with him there. It was like there'd been something missing before, but it was there now. He was there now.

"Well," Gobber said, looking at the fish. "Tha' was quick."

Hiccup smiled.

"A'right, let's pack up!" The camp became a flurry of activity as everyone began stuffing items into their bags.

"...Gobber, I could have Toothless... pull the, um, boat for a while..." Hiccup began. "You won't need to... Row until we can see... Berk."

Gobber stared at Hiccup. "A'right, we'll try tha'. When do ya think we'll get there?" Hiccup thought for a minute.

"I don't remember how to say time... I didn't need to remember. I don't think... later than... When the...Sun comes." He smirked at the disbelieving expression on Gobber's face. "Toothless is the ...Fastest dragon I ever, um, saw."

Gobber nodded slowly. "Hurry up!" He called. "We're leavin' in 15 minutes!"

It was another hour until they were ready to sail. Everyone had to find their scattered weaponry, and Hiccup had rigged a new harness for Toothless which allowed him to pull the ship much faster than they could have rowed. Astrid closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind hitting her face as they skipped across the waves. She fell asleep that way, unaware of how Hiccup kept glancing back at her.

She woke up after a particularily nasty nightmare in which she'd run to the cove to find Hiccup's bloody and lifeless body waiting for her. She shuddered, forcing the image out of her mind.

"Wake up! Berk's in sight!" Gobber bellowed. Fishlegs groaned and sat up.

He blinked sleepily, looking around. "What time is it..?" It suddenly registered that it had been dark out when he'd gone to sleep, and it was dark now. But Gobber said that Berk was in sight, so... "Wait, I slept a whole day!?"

"More like five hours," Gobber said cheerfully. "Hiccup's dragon pulled th' boat all night. Th' two of 'm jus' took off now for th' Cove." Gobber clunked over to the Thorsten twins' bench. Leaning close, he suddenly screamed. "WAKE UP, YA LAZY BUMS! GET T' ROWIN' OR I'LL THROW YA OVERBOARD!"

The twins jerked awake, Ruffnut elbowing her brother in the process. "Troll-butt!" He yelled. She elbowed him again. "Hag face!" He dodged the punch she sent his way and kicked out at her.

Ruffnut dodged and smirked, quickly thinking up an insult. "Your hair is girly!" She taunted. That did it. Tuffnut leapt on her, tackling her to the deck.

They rolled into Snotlout, who'd fallen off his bench at some point during the night. He woke up, scrambling away from the bickering twins. Unfortunately, he tripped backwards over the bench and fell overboard... Again. The sight was enough to cheer Astrid up as Gobber set them to rowing.

"When will we dock?" Astrid asked impatiently. She didn't particularily like boats, but she was a Viking and would live with them. No, her desire to reach shore stemmed from a scrawny boy with a lopsided grin and bright green eyes.

"Jus' before dawn, I think," Gobber replied. "Which 's good. Stoick'll be up by then, but not many others will be. We can drag 'im to the Cove right away."

Astrid smiled. Dawn wasn't far off, and then she could see Hiccup. Wait, when did she start looking forward to seeing people?

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless took their time getting to the cove, knowing it would be some time before the others arrived with his father. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was sure his dad wasn't proud of him, he'd known _that_ for years. But now his father would know the truth, and what if they forgot to disarm the man? He would kill Toothless, and probably him as well. They performed crazy aerial stunts to take his mind off the upcoming reunion, twisting and turning in the air, but the time passed quickly.

"Okay Toothless, it's... It's time. Let's go." He angled them toward the Cove, dread building inside him. They circled once before landing graciously behind the Viking Chieftain that was Hiccup's father.

"Gobber, why did ye drag me out here? I know this is where my son..." Stoick cut himself off abruptly. He didn't want to talk about this. Hel, he didn't want to be_ here_, where his son died.

"Stoick," Gobber began, "Ye need t' get over it. It's been three years, the village needs ye!"

"No they don'." He said stubbornly. "My son did. An' I let him down."

"Chief, you weren't even here when that happened! You were searching for the nest, you couldn't have known Hiccup was telling the truth about the dragon!" Astrid protested, winking at Hiccup.

Hiccup took that as his cue. "Alright Toothless, now." He whispered. Toothless fired a tiny bolt of blue fire past the Chief's feet, and Stoick whirled around to stare at them. Or rather, at Toothless.

"Night Fury..." He breathed, reaching for his hammer, only to find it suddenly wasn't there. "Wha-?" Hiccup mentally thanked the Thorsten twins for sneaking his father's weapons away while Astrid and Gobber were distracting him.

Stoick cracked his knuckles and Hiccup decided that waiting longer wasn't going to help. He reached up and lifted the hood of his outfit. He tried to think of something cool to say but only managed to stammer out "H-Hey... Dad."

Stoick took a step back in shock. "Hiccup?_ Son_... Is that you?"

"Um, yeah? It's me, Dad... Uh..." He panicked and switched to Dragonese. "Toothless'smybestfriendpleasedon'thurthimI'msorryforrunningawayIdidn'tknowwhatelsetodo!" He blurted out.

Stoick blinked. "What?" All he'd heard was a sort of panicked growling sound coming from his son's lips.

Hiccup took a deep breath and repeated himself in Norse. "Oh gods... I'm... Sorry for... Running away, um... Dad, I didn't think... I didn't think anyone would... Uh, miss me. I, um, did... Shoot down that Night Fury, but... I wouldn't kill him. I cut the ropes, let him... Free. He's my... Um... Best friend... Please don't, uh, don't hurt... Him." Hiccup stared at his father, waiting for a reaction.

Stoick seemed to have forgotten about Toothless when he saw Hiccup but at the mention of the Night Fury he tore his gaze away from his son and stared at the dragon his boy was sitting on. "You... Ride a dragon. Odin, my son rides a dragon!"

"Yes... Dad. I... Ride a dragon. This... Is Toothless." Hiccup said sarcastically, then switched to Dragonese. "Toothless, this is my father, Stoick the Vast."

Toothless narrowed his eyes. "He's the one who left you alone." He growled.

"Toothless! Bud, it's not... He's just..." Hiccup sighed. "My mom died when I was eight, in a dragon raid."

Toothless stopped growling and his ears perked up in surprise. "Your mother?"

Hiccup nodded. "Before she died, everything was okay. But after... Dad buried himself in work, and we kind of just... Drifted apart."

"What's 'e doin'?" Stoick whispered to Gobber. "An' why was 'e talkin' like that?"

"He's talkin' to 'is friend, odd as it is." Gobber replied. "And he's mostly forgotten how t' speak Norse in the years he's been gone. So 'e keeps pausin' to remember the words."

Toothless let his pupils dilate and relaxed, having decided that Stoick wasn't completely to blame for his friend's unhappiness. Hiccup looked up to see his Dad staring at him again.

"Uh... Dad? You're... Um, staring."

"Oh! Uh.. Sorry. I just- I never thought I'd see... All this again." He gestured at his son, who rolled his eyes.

"You... Just, um... Gestured to... All of me." Hiccup said slowly, sliding off Toothless.

Stoick let out a choked sound and rushed forward, swinging him into a hug. "Oh... Son, I missed you so much..."

"Uh... Dad? Can't... Can't, um... Breath!" Hiccup choked out, dangling from his father's arms.

Stoick released him immediately. "Oh... um.. Sorry, son," He said, stepping away and looking at the ground.

Hiccup ducked his head, peeking at his father from under his bangs.

Gobber sighed. "So, aren' ya gonna tell yer Dad what ye found, Hiccup?" He prompted.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Oh... Right, yeah... I, um... Found the... Um... I found the... Nest?"

"You WHAT!?" Stoick bellowed. Hiccup flinched away from the noise, leaning into his dragon.

"Toothless... Took me to the Nest. Dad, there's... _Something_ in there... It's a dragon, but it's-"

"Where is it?" Stoick cut him off. "If we take the Nest, the dragons will _leave_. All of our problems will be solved!"

"Uh, yeah... There... Might be a problem with that..." Hiccup began, only to be cut off again.

"We're going back to the village. Ready the ships, Gobber. Son, bring your dragon." The Chief said, stomping over to the side of the Cove.

"...And he isn't listening. Perfect." Hiccup muttered to himself.

"And I thought MY Dad was hard on me," Snotlout whispered to Tuffnut.


	7. Listen To Me

"Dad- _Dad!_ Listen to me! Dad!" Hiccup was trying unsuccessfully to attract his father's attention. He sighed and turned to his dragon. "Toothless? Little help would be nice." The dragon nodded and shot a fireball at the path to the rim. It collapsed, making the older Vikings move back away from the rubble. "Not exactly what I meant, but that works too," Hiccup said. Now the only way out was by flying.

"That was so cool!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Can you do that to my sister?"

Hiccup looked mildly disturbed. "Uh, no."

"Hiccup, get that beast under control!" Stoick ordered.

"He's... _Not_ a... Beast... And I um, asked him to do that. ...Kind of." Hiccup responded. "Dad, you aren't... Listening to me!"

"Yes I am," Stoick said.

"No, you're not! Dad, you'll..._ Die_ if you find the nest. I can't... I already lost... Mom, I don't... I don't want to... Lose you too."

"Son, I'll have the tribe with me. We can take anything, you_ know_ that."

"No I don't. The... The Red Death is huge, you wouldn't... have a... _Chance_..."

"If we don't try, the dragons won't leave us alone. If the raids continue, we won't have enough food for winter. _Something_ has to change." Stoick argued.

"_This_... Is why I... Left," Hiccup snapped, frustrated. "You _never_... Listen to me! You didn't listen... When I told you I had no, um... Friends, you didn't_ listen_ when I said... I shot down a..." He growled something in furious Dragonese and continued. "you didn't listen when I told you... I _couldn't_ kill dragons... _Can't_ kill dragons..."

Stoick stopped, suddenly realizing his son was right. He hadn't listened. But it was not too late to change that. He replied to his son in a gentle voice. "I'm listening _now_, son. What do you want to tell me?"

Hiccup took a deep breath. "The Red Death is the size of an, um... A _mountain_, Dad. Your... Weapons wouldn't even... Bruise it..."

"That's impossible! No dragon is_ that_ big..."

"No, Dad, I've... _Been_ there; I saw it! It... _Ate_ a Gronkle _whole_, Dad, if..." He rubbed Toothless's head. "If Toothless were any... Slower, we _wouldn't_ be here. If that... Zippleback didn't fly into the way..." He shuddered, remembering the flash of teeth and rank breath of the monster. "We would be... _Gone_."

"You didn't tell us that!" Astrid exclaimed, punching his shoulder.

"Ow! Astrid, what was... _That_ for!?" He cried, rubbing his arm.

"For almost getting yourself killed," She growled, then remembered that _oh yeah_, he was cute now. She leaned in and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "And that's for... For coming back." She turned away quickly to hide her crimson cheeks.

"Is she _blushing_?" Tuffnut murmured in his sister's ear.

"_Shut up,_ you moron!" She whispered back, pushing him away.

As a girl, Ruffnut knew_ exactly_ what Astrid was thinking of Hiccup now. She _also_ knew Hiccup had had a huge crush on Astrid as long as she could remember, though she didn't think Astrid had ever noticed the scrawny boy staring at her from the smithy's window with a dazed expression on his face. The same one that was on his face right now, actually.

"So, what are we gonna do 'bout this Red Death, Hiccup?" Gobber encouraged.

"Astrid has an... Idea," He said, shaking off his lopsided grin.

"I was thinking if we... Teamed up with dragons, we'd have a better chance of taking it down." Astrid explained. "Hiccup could teach us."

Stoick stared at her. "You want Vikings to ride dragons? That is the most insane thing I've ever..." He trailed off, lost in thought.

"Uh, Dad? I'm still... Um." He hesitated, not knowing the word he was looking for. "Thought of... As a Viking, right? I ride a... Uh, a_ Night Fury_. You know, the so-called... Um, 'child of lightning and death?' Yeah. _I_ think... It's a good... Idea."

"What do you mean, 'still thought of as a Viking?'" Astrid asked.

"I... _Ran away_... Remember? And... I'm not... _Like_ you." Hiccup explained, gesturing wildly at everyone. "I'm... Skinny, _weak_, think... Um, _different_ than you do, I'm... Smart (No offense, Snotlout), no one... In the village likes me, _won't_... kill dragons, don't like killing in... In general..._ What_?!" He broke off as Astrid glared at him.

"Why do you think no one likes you? It's not true." She said, crossing her arms.

"It- It's not?" Everyone heard the surprise in his voice.

"No, it's not. And you're not the only one who's skinny, Hicup. I'm skinny, and look at the twins!" Astrid felt horrible. She'd ignored Hiccup for years, she could have made sure he never thought that about himself. They all could've.

"You're all... Strong. I... Still can't... Swing an... Axe, or throw... Bolas, or... Anything like that-"

"What abou' tha' sword ye made for yourself when ye were ten?" Gobber interrupted.

"Can use that, and... Okay with a... A bow, it's just, well... Everything else." Hiccup replied.

"You have a sword?" Snotlout asked in surprise. "Since _when_ can you use a _sword_?"

"See? _This_ is why I think... Things like that, Astrid." Hiccup gestured wildly at Snotlout. "I've been called... 'Hiccup the _Useless_' since Mom died..." He glanced at Toothless's tail. "And it's mostly... True."

She punched him again. "It's _never_ been true, Hiccup. We were wrong, and we didn't take the time to get to know you. So, tell us about that sword."

"Ow!" Hiccup cried, rubbing his arm. "Fine, I'll show you." He reached under his cloak and pulled out what had to be the most beautiful sword in the Barbaric Archipelago.

"Tha's_ not_ the one ye' made when ye were ten..." Gobber said slowly. This sword was long and thin, with coloured runes running up and down the blade.

"No, it isn't. I outgrew... That, long.. Um, long... Time... This is... '_Peacebringer_.' I made her... After I... Left."

"How...? Hiccup, ye don' even have a forge, how..." Gobber was at a loss for words.

"I have a dragon with no... Um, no... Shot limit, I don't need a... Forge." Hiccup smirked.

"An unlimited shot limit? Hiccup, do you_ realize_ the parameters of that statement? It could mean..." Everyone tuned out Fishlegs' rambling.

"Why'd you name it something lame? You should call it... Skullcrusher!" Tuffnut declared, sweeping his arms out like he could see the title in front of him.

"Uh..."

"How'd you give it that greenish colour?" Astrid asked. "And why're you holding it like that?"

"I found... New metal that turns... Green when it's mixed with... Iron." Hiccup answered. He stared at her in surprise at the second question. "Astrid, I'm... I'm left handed. Didn't you know that?"

"Ummmm..."

He suddenly noticed the awkward way Astrid was hefting her axe. "Astrid, can I see your... Axe?" She handed it over with a confused expression. "Hmm... Toothless, c'mere a minute..." He pulled his hammer out of the pack and walked down to a flat rock by the pond, still inspecting the axe and muttering in Dragonese.

"Hold it here, Bud..." Toothless did as he was asked and Hiccup pulled the handle off. "Okay, shoot here," He pointed at the axe head and the dragon let out some fire. "That's good," Hiccup said. He pounded the metal, thinning it. After a while, he nodded to himself and put the hammer down. He fitted the handle to the reworked head and swung it experimentally. The weight nearly pulled him off his feet. "Bite here, Toothless." He instructed, pointing to a spot somewhat near the bottom of the handle. When the end was bitten off, he handed the axe back to Astrid, who was watching them in amazement.

"There. Now it... Should work... Better for you." He said.

"Hiccup, this is..." Astrid turned and threw her axe at a tree. It buried itself several inches deep and she nodded, impressed. "Wow... This is is almost better than my old axe."

He smiled. "Gobber, um, replaced your old axe, didn't... He?" When she nodded, he continued. "I... Made the axe you got... For your... Birthday. The, um... The old one. I was planning on making another when you turned... Older, but..."

Her eyes widened. "You made my axe?" He nodded. "Oh... What else did you make?"

He furrowed his brows, thinking. Gobber patted him on the shoulder. "Th' lad made th' spikes on your shoulder pads, an' yer skirt, he couldn' stop blushin' when he attached th' spikes t' that, knowin' where they'd sit..." Gobber grinned at Hiccup, who'd suddenly gone very red. "...Snotlout's hammer, the twins' spears 'n daggers, Fishlegs' hammer... Helped wi' th' shields, designed some o' my prosthetic attachments, made a good many mugs, a' least half the tribe's weaponry, designed an' built all th' failed inventions everyone remembers..." He trailed off, having proven his point.

"You made my hammer?" Fishlegs asked, holding it up. "But I got this when I was six!"

"Yeah... Fishlegs. I made it when I was... Littler. You should get... A _bigger_ one... It's... Small for you now." Hiccup told him, scratching Toothless under the chin.

"Hiccup," Stoick interrupted. "Are _all_ dragons like this one?" He was staring at the Night Fury, who was purring as loud as he could, toungue lolling out of his mouth.

"Yeah," He answered. "I mean, they all have... Different, um, personalities, but... Most aren't... _Bad_."

"Convince me," Stoick said.

His son smiled.


	8. Dragon Training

Half an hour later, they were standing on a wide ledge as far away from a cave as possible. Hiccup was telling Toothless to stay and _not_ provoke the Nightmare like he did last time, because it made the Nadder nervous and they _really_ didn't need that right now.

"Um, Hiccup? Are you... _Sure_ this is safe?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

"They're good dragons," Hiccup replied. "Just show them you aren't going to... Hurt them and you'll be fine," He added, as he walked into the shadows.

As he made his way into the cave, he called out in Dragonese. "Hello? Anyone home? It's Hiccup, you remember me, right?" He could hear the dragons' breathing, though he couldn't see anything. His foot caught on something in the dark and he fell forwards, grunting when he hit the ground.

"Well, it _is_ him," Someone whispered cautiously. The Nadder, Hiccup presumed. She always spoke her mind, like Astrid. "Nobody else is that clumsy."

"Hmm, yes... But why would he bring killers here?" Another replied. The Gronckle, always thinking things through.

"Why don't we just ask him?_ Dimwit_, it might be a trap!" That would be the Zippleback, arguing with herself... Again.

"If it's Hiccup, why would it be a trap? Hiccup's a nice hatchling." The Nightmare wasn't exactly the smartest dragon in the cave, but she had a point.

Hiccup got to his feet. "It's _not_ a trap. The pretty blond girl outside, Astrid, found my home and I convinced her and the others that dragons aren't dangerous or evil or anything, but they want more proof."

"Do they have weapons?" Asked the Nadder.

"No, I made them leave those behind."

"Then I will come." She said, nosing Hiccup. He sighed in relief.

"So will I! Don't forget me!" chorused the Zippleback, following the Nadder's lead.

"Are you sure they won't hurt us?" Asked the Gronkle nervously.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Hiccup replied.

"I will," Boasted the Nightmare. "I'm not afraid." She shot a bolt of fire at the wall to prove her point and stepped forward.

"I'm not scared!" The Gronckle said indignantly. "I'm just... Cautious." Nevertheless, she walked over to nuzzle Hiccup as well.

Outside the cave, Fishlegs asked, "What do you think he's doing?"

"I don't know... Ah!" Snotlout started when the Nightmare's fire lit up the cave, and they all saw the small sihlouetted form of Hiccup facing several dragons.

"I shouldn't have let him go in there..." Stoick was worried. How many times had he had to save his son from a dragon's teeth?

"No," Astrid said. "He's coming out!" Sure enough, Hiccup was making his way into the sunlight, followed by several nervous dragons.

"Astrid," He beconed for her to come over to him. "Come, uh... Here."

Astrid walked slowly over to him as he whispered something to the Nadder in Dragonese. The dragon nodded in response and stepped forward.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked. He gave her a familiar lopsided grin.

"Astrid... Meet your, um, dragon." He said. Her eyes widened.

"She's beautiful... What's her name?" She asked, raising her hand to touch the Nadder's nose.

"She.. Doesn't have one... None of them do." Hiccup replied.

"I think I'll call her... Stormfly." Astrid smiled.

"What's she saying?" The Nadder asked Hiccup, who was grinning.

"She gave you a name." Hiccup answered. "She's going to call you Stormfly." He told her.

"She named me!" Stormfly squawked in joy. She nuzzled her new rider gleefully, making her laugh.

"Ooh, me next! No, me!" The Zippleback was eying the twins in the same way as they were staring at her.

"Okay. Twins... Um... Tuff? Ruff? You get the Zippleback. I think you'll... Get along." The twins grinned at each other.

"Awesome! I want the head with the sparks!" Ruffnut shouted, tripping her brother as they ran over.

"Oh yeah? Well,_ I_ want the one with gas!" Tuff yelled, getting up and pushing her.

The dragon was having a similar argument. "I want the girl, she's feisty! Hah, shows what you know. The boy looks dangerous!"

"Uh... Everyone be quiet!" Hiccup roared in Dragonese. The twins, obviously not understanding, kept bickering. He ignored them. "Okay, uh... Pick up the twin you want!" He told the now attentive Zippleback.

A moment later, The Thorsten twins found themselves dangling from the mouths of their new dragon.

Hiccup sighed in relief. "Ruff, Tuff, the _dragon_... Decides who gets what head. Have... Fun naming them." They nodded in unison and went back to squabbling. "Okay, Fishlegs... You get the Gronckle."

"Uh... Are you sure? 'Cuz I heard Gronckles were extra tough and vicious..." He trailed off as Hiccup led the bulky dragon over to him.

Hiccup was aware of his father's incredulous eyes on his back as he guided Fishlegs' hand to the dragon's nose.

The only ones left to be paired up were Snotlout and the Nightmare. Hiccup's cousin looked scared enough to wet himself, so Hiccup figured he probably wasn't up to approaching a large firebreathing reptile. So, he got said reptile to follow him over to Snotlout instead.

He grabbed Snotlout's hand as he tried to back away. "Uh, what are you..!" Began Snotlout.

"Uh, calm down, it's... Okay. It's okay." Hiccup said, guiding his cousin's hand onto the Nightmare's snout. Snotlout began laughing incredulously. He was touching a dragon.

Odin, he was_ touching_ a _dragon_!

"I like this one," purred the dragon. "He knows his place." Hiccup laughed and relayed that to Snotlout, who addressed his dragon directly. "Hey!" The Nightmare smiled and purred louder. "I think I'll call you Hookfang, 'cuz your fangs are like hooks!" Snotlout announced.

"Ours is Barf." Tuffnut said.

"Idiot, it's Belch!" Ruff elbowed him aside.

"How about," interjected the Zippleback heads in unison, "Barf AND Belch?" Hiccup smiled.

"She wants to be Barf and Belch." He translated for the twins. He switched to Dragonese and thanked Barf and Belch for preventing yet another sibling fight.

"The Gronckle was, by now, lying at Fishlegs' feet and he was vigorously scratching her behind the ear. "What a good girl you are Meatlug, yes you are!"

Hiccup walked over to his father and Gobber. "Do you believe me yet?" He grinned.

"I have to admit, Ye never do things halfway." Gobber said.

"Alright son, I'm convinced. How do you plan to tell the rest of the tribe?" Hiccup froze.

"I have to... Tell the tribe?" He said nervously. "But... I can't talk... Very well, anymore, in Norse... But you can... Take them to the nest and... We'll kill the Red Death."

"No, son. You have to take responsibility." Stoick said. Hiccup groaned.

"Um... Fine. Please, uh... Tell them to... To drop their, uh... Weapons? I don't want the dragons to... Not trust." Hiccup explained. Secretly, he knew he would be just as scared as the dragons if anyone he didn't completely trust held a weapon in front of him.

Stoick nodded and Hiccup sighed in relief.

"Good. Hookfang will... Carry you back, Dad. Gobber too. Um, Riders... Get on your dragons, we're flying now." Hiccup directed. He switched to Dragonese and had the dragons crouch to allow the Vikings to climb on.

"Okay, let's go!" Hiccup cried to the dragons. They launched themselves upwards, and their riders clung desperately to them.

"How are you doing that!" Astrid shouted at Hiccup, who was moving like he were a part of Toothless.

"Practice!" He yelled back.

"THIS IS SO COOL!" Tuffnut screamed.

"I KNOW!" Ruff shrieked. "BEST THING EVER!"

"Riders! Turn... No, WITH your dragons, you don't want to fall off!" Hiccup directed. "Yes- Like that, Astrid!"

* * *

**Hey! So, I need your opinion of something. I'm writing chapter nine right now, and I want to know if you guys want me to have Hiccup to propose to Astrid, or let their parents arrange it behind their backs.**


	9. Tribe Meeting

Hiccup guided them through a quick lesson as they flew, and before they knew it they were touching down beyond a small rise just out of sight of the village.

"I can do this... I can... I don't want to do this..." Hiccup chanted miserably to himself. He sounded like he was whimpering to the others, but they didn't need him to translate his words for them to understand his meaning.

"Calm down, Hiccup, it's not like you have to do this alone." Astrid said confidently, leaning over to punch his shoulder.

He stared at her as he rubbed his arm. "Astrid, have you... Ever had the entire village... Laugh at you? It's not fun."

"Of course she hasn't!" Snotlout snorted. "She came out of training with the highest score! People _respect_ her."

"Snotlout, shut up." Astrid glared at him. "Let's get this over with."

Hiccup took a deep breath as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. "Let's move," He said, urging the dragons forward.

Stoick and Gobber walked behind the dragons.

"He's grown so much..." Stoick said wistfully.

"Yes, he 'as. Ye should see the place he's been livin', these past three years. Built 'imself a cozy little cabin." Gobber told him.

"He did?" Stoick wasn't sure whether to be pleased with the boy's accomplishment, or saddened because his son had grown up without him.

"Aye, an' he camoflauged it so well I couldn' see it till 'e went inside."

Stoick sighed. "He's going to want to go back there when this is over, isn't he?"

Gobber nodded. "Lad was fairly against leavin' in th' first place."

There wasn't much more room for talk, because then they reached the crest of a hill and the village came into sight.

Hiccup whimpered, fighting the urge to tell Toothless to turn around and take off into the sky. He really didn't want to do this. He was really, very, _very_, extra sure that nothing good would come of this.

The alarm signaling dragon raids went off and then there was a horde of Viking warriors running towards them. The dragons and their riders stood their ground and the Vikings slowed to a halt about ten feet away, gawking.

They stood there, staring at each other until a shieldmaiden pushed her way to the front and spotted her daughter sitting on a Deadly Nadder.

"Astrid Hofferson, _WHAT_ do you think you're doing? Get off that dragon RIGHT NOW!" shouted Ingrid Hofferson. Her command was soon shadowed by the orders of the other teens' parents.

"No, mum, I won't. Stormfly is my dragon, and I won't let you hurt her." Astrid replied calmly. Ingrid had by then spotted the Chief standing behind the dragons.

"Stoick! What is this madness, what's going on?" She shouted, hefting her battle axe.

The Nadder squawked nervously at the weapon, opening her wings halfway in an attempt to appear larger than she was.

"Drop your weapons." Stoick ordered. "It's safe, don't worry. I'll explain everything in the Great Hall." Muttering nervously, but trusting their Chief, the warriors did as they were told, and dropped their blades before trudging to the Great Hall.

Everybody was intensely curious as to who could be sitting on the black dragon that could be nothing less than a Night Fury, but no one would hazard a guess. Nobody had a cloak like that.

The dragons were the last to enter the Hall, and Stoick closed the great doors behind them.

"Alright, well... I guess I have some explaining t' do." He announced. There was silence as everyone waited for him to continue. "As you all know, my son was carried off by a dragon three years ago." The warriors nodded, wondering what that could possibly have to do with the huge creatures the teens were riding. "The dragon... did not kill him." Stoick continued slowly, smiling gratefully. "My son is alive."

Apart from a few exclamations of surprise, there was a shocked silence. "How do you know?" Someone called.

"Gobber recently took the teens on a fishing trip to the nearby island of Villany, where my son was found in a hidden grotto of his own making." The Chief explained. "This will come as a shock to you, but Hiccup wasn't taken against his will. He shot down a Night Fury three years ago, befriended it, and ran away from Berk."

Everyone began talking loudly, trying to make themselves heard by the Chief, and shouting questions in all directions. "Where's Hiccup now?" "How did he survive?" "What does that have to do with these dragons?!"

Hiccup was one of the few who noticed the dragon's agitation with the sudden noise. Without thinking, he yelled as loud as he could in Dragonese. "STOP!" It came out as a roar, and effectively silenced the Vikings.

Stoick nodded in thanks. "Now, some of you are wondering how my son survived for three years by himself. I'll let him tell that story, if he wants to. Hiccup?" He motioned for his son to come forward.

Hiccup took a deep breath and slid off of Toothless. As he walked over to his father, he pushed his hood back to reveal his warm green eyes and familiar copper hair. It was very unnerving to have all eyes on him, especially after spending so long with only a dragon for company.

"Um... Hi?" He said. "What my Dad said... It's, um, true. I... Shot Toothless down with my... Bola cannon, in a raid. I, um, tried to... Tell you all, but... You just laughed at me. So I went into the trees alone to... Kill, the Night Fury." Hiccup smiled and glanced at his dragon. "Instead, I made a... Friend."

The hall was silent until someone burst out in cackling laughter. It was, of course, Mildew the Unpleasant.

Hiccup fidgeted uncomfortably, glaring at the floor for a moment, then he started growling under his breath. Mildew's laughter died as he wheezed for breath. "You expect me to believe_ this_ is your scrawny son, Stoick?" He pointed at Hiccup with his gnarled staff. "Returned from the dead, eh? Look at him! Can't even speak proper Norse! Face it, Stoick. Your precious son is _dead_."

Stoick glared at Mildew, daring him to say more. When he didn't, he opened his mouth to speak, but Hiccup beat him to it. "You just gestured to... _All_ of me, Mildew... I'm... Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the... Um, the..." He had to stop to think for a moment, then he brightened, having remembered. "The third... I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. My father is Stoick the Vast, and my mom was Val- Valhallarama." He grinned at his father, who was smiling proudly back. "I may not remember how to speak Norse much, but... I can speak... Dragonese."

"Prove it, Hiccup." Mildew spat.

Hiccup glared at him for a moment, before turning to Toothless, grinning deviously. "Toothless, I_ really_ don't think anyone would mind if you drooled on that horrible smelly man with the staff..."

"Good, 'cuz I _really_ wanted to do that," Toothless smirked. The crowd parted nervously to let him past as he trotted over to Mildew. He stood over the cowering old man, staring him down, then very deliberately spat on his chest, making sure to show off his teeth, before traipsing regally back to his rider.

Hiccup grinned cheekily in response to his father's raised eyebrow. "Good boy, Toothless! Here, you get a scratch for that." Toothless immediately went from wary beast to eager puppy as he leaned into his rider's ministrations.

Mildew didn't have anything to say after that.

"Toothless, he taught me to speak Dragonese. After I ran away. And... I helped him fly again. When I shot him down, he lost a... Tailfin." Hiccup explained. "I ran away... Because I was sure that... Nobody would miss me. And... Then Astrid came and found my home. She almost killed Toothless. But I guess that's fair... I almost shot her with my bow for it." He grinned at her. "And then..."

"I thought you were dead, Hiccup! I thought he killed you, that's the_ only_ reason I fainted. People don't usually come back from the dead." Astrid defended herself, blushing slightly.

Ingrid took one look at her daughter's face and realization dawned on her. She shared a look with the Chief and he nodded slightly.

The lovestruck teens were oblivious to their parents' plans, however. "Sure, Astrid." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway," He turned back to the warriors, "They convinced me to come here, because... I found the, um... Nest."

For the second time that day, the Mead Hall erupted in chaos. Hiccup visibly flinched this time as some of the Vikings began crowding him, asking questions.

Then the teens were there with their dragons, holding the crowd back, and he relaxed a bit. Stoick called for silence. "Now, I know the first thing we want to do is go rushing off to take the nest," There was a murmur of agreement. Nobody wanted the raids to continue. "But, my son claims there is a dragon there the size of a mountain."

"Then why haven't we ever seen this monster?" Someone shouted.

"It doesn't raid the village." Hiccup answered quickly. "The... Red Death forces all the smaller dragons to feed it... Or be swallowed whole."


	10. Tailfin

It was eventually decided that, despite the Red Death's presence, the Vikings would attack the nest by sea, with the exception of Hiccup's Dragon Riders. They were supposed to lead the ships and rescue anyone who needed rescuing.

Hiccup felt they were underestimating the sheer size of the beast, but there wasn't much he could do. Vikings were, after all, incredibly stubborn.

He was wandering through the forest near Toothless's cove, thinking of everything that had happened. Toothless was off somewhere by himself, probably hunting. Or exploring.

Hiccup wasn't sure when he'd forgotten his own name in the time he was gone, only that when Astrid found him, he'd barely recognized the Norse word that was associated with him.

"Hiccup?" He looked up to see Astrid approaching. "Mind if I join you?"

"No, no... By all means, I don't mind... Really." He smiled shyly, shaking his head.

"So, what are you doing out here?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing... Just thinking." He replied. "Mostly... About what's happened." Astrid nodded and they walked in silence for a bit. "Astrid, thanks."

She looked over at him, surprised. "What for?"

"For finding me," He answered. "I was almost... Not, um... Not..." He sighed. "Astrid, I... Forgot my own name, when I was gone. I almost forgot my language too..."

Astrid's eyes widened considerably. "You forgot your own name? Wow..." He nodded, suddenly interested in his feet.

"I never forgot _your_ name though..." He peeked at her through his hair. "I came back a few times, after... To get things I needed."

"That explains how you got Gobber's sheep." Astrid joked. Hiccup smiled faintly as he sat down on a boulder. Astrid planted herself beside him. "What's wrong, Hiccup?" She asked him gently.

"I... I don't feel... Like I'm _home_, here anymore... I don't want to forget again, either... It's just..." He admitted. "I want to stay... But, I've been gone too long. I'm used to being... Just me and Toothless, and this... It's weird."

Astrid nodded. "That kind of makes sense... I guess I'd feel the same way if I was gone that long."

Hiccup looked over at her. "Astrid... I'm going back to my island... After the battle, if... If I survive. And I was wondering if, do you... Want to come with me?"

Astrid opened her mouth to decline, but stopped. Hiccup was really cute now... And he wanted her to live with him. Alone. It would be really peaceful and quiet, something she'd never have on Berk... She'd been in his house. There was only one bed... She mentally slapped herself, but nodded anyway. "Sure, Hiccup. I'd love to."

The stupid grin on his face didn't leave until they re-entered the village some time later to find Vikings boarding the ships. The other dragons were already settled on the decks, with their riders nearby.

Toothless had joined them at some point, and now Hiccup swung onto his back as they walked, pulling Astrid on with him. "Come on! We have a battle to win." As an afterthought, he added "Hold on."

She screamed, clinging to him as they took off vertically. Toothless smirked as he took them first into the clouds and then pulled into a steep dive, headed straight down towards the boats.

Cries of "Night Fury! Get down!" rang out on the docks below as Toothless pulled up just short of the water. He landed neatly on the pier and Hiccup helped a thoroughly shaken Astrid off of the dragon's back.

Hiccup was entirely unaffected by his friend's antics. Stoick came storming over. "Hiccup! Son, what were you doing! You almost crashed!" Hiccup snorted.

Toothless leapt onto the deck and made himself comfortable, as he waited for his rider and Astrid to clamber into the boat. "Dad, Toothless is a Night Fury. I couldn't... Stop him from doing tricks if I wanted to. And I've been doing this for... Um, for..." He trailed off, then added "For longer than I've been gone."

Stoick frowned at the thought of his son doing such dangerous stunts behind his back, but he was secretly proud of the boy. "Well, onto th' ship, then. Can't have you getting left behind!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes as he jumped onto the ship but didn't comment. Stoick made the call to set sail and they were off.

"So, what's our plan?" Astrid asked, standing near Hiccup and Toothless.

"Right now? Stay back and rescue people that need rescuing. Which, if the Red Death is as large as I... Remember, will be everybody." Hiccup explained, without looking away from Toothless. "And then... I'll think of something."

He looked up to see Astrid's eyebrows raise as she thought of just how large this thing would have to be in order to defeat such an army of tough Viking warriors.

Toothless warbled something as the dark mist of the nest appeared on the horizon. "Oh, Toothless says that you need to, um, scratch Stormfly under the chin until she collapses. Otherwise, she'll try to fly towards the nest. Can you tell the others to do the same... With their dragons?" Astrid nodded and hurried off to do so.

Hiccup looked worriedly at his friend. "Toothless, should I scratch under your chin too?" The dragon considered it, then shook his head.

"No, you need me to direct the ship. Could you take my tailfin off instead? I don't want to damage it by accident." Hiccup nodded as he sat down next to his friend's tail and began unbuckling the straps.

The Vikings watched, amazed, as the dragons dropped to the deck contentedly after a scratch under the chin. The riders laughed delightedly and kept scratching.

Stoick glanced over at his son and found him fiddling with the Night Fury's tail. Just as he was about to stomp over and ask his son what he was doing, the last strap came undone and Toothless flicked his tail away to stare at the missing space for a moment. "I don't think I'll ever fully get over seeing that," murmured Toothless thoughtfully. Hiccup glanced at him guiltily.

"I'm sorry, Toothless." Just as he was about to fold the prosthetic up, he noticed something. There was a single scale missing from the fin, exposing a small circle of worn brown leather. Then Stoick gave the order to turn the ship into the roiling mist and all thoughts of making repairs fled from his mind.

Hiccup backed away as Toothless's ears shot up and his eyes turned into slits. "What's going on?" Stoick asked gruffly, studying the dragon.

"He's being Called," Hiccup said. "It's how they... How it controls them." Stoick nodded, not really understanding. Hiccup however, could hear the sweet voice of the Queen, calling, and she was hungry, she needed food, and he should feed her... He shook himself out of the trance his dragon had been captured by, plugging his ears.

The Night Fury bounded to the prow and lifted his head, warbling. Stoick shoved someone aside and took over the rudder. He followed the dragon's movements as Toothless let out a low croon, shuffling first to port, then starboard and back again. Toothless tried to take off a few times, only to fall back to the deck with a curse and a thud. The teens watched Hiccup stand by helpless to calm his dragon for a moment before returning to their dragons to make sure they wouldn't wake up too soon and be caught by the Red Death's call.

It seemed like forever by the time the lead ship gently bumped the shore of the wide rocky beach and Toothless calmed down.

Hiccup strapped the prosthetic back onto his tail as Stoick began making attack plans with his commanders. Then Hiccup walked over to the teens, who had started nudging their dragons, trying to wake them up. "Not like that," He said. "They should wake up on their own in a little time anyway."

True to his word, the dragons were up in a few minutes, squawking and roaring at the Red Death, with their riders on their backs. But it was clear to Hiccup as Fishlegs' Gronkle went down, that they weren't enough to take down the beast. It seemed as if all they'd managed to do was make it mad. He could hear it's awful hate-filled voice hurling obscenities in all directions and he winced as one particularily loud scream almost burst his eardrums. He glanced up at the dark clouds hanging above, a plan slowly forming in his mind.

"Okay Toothless, we gotta get up there." The only reason they weren't up there already was that Stoick had insisted they wouldn't need a Night Fury's help. Hiccup suspected it was an excuse to keep him out of the way. He didn't let his dad see how that hurt his feelings, that his own father didn't trust him in battle. He'd followed the man on shore, and Toothless had followed him. He was immensely grateful for that, as the ships were all burning.

"Finally," Toothless bent down to allow Hiccup to pull himself onto his back. "Let's show them what we can do!"

Hiccup grinned. "You got it, Bud." They took off, headed straight for the clouds. Hiccup moved his foot on the pedal, and they executed a manoever that had them shrieking towards the Red Death.

The cry of "Night Fury! Get _down_!" was lost to the winds as they fired a blast at the demon's mouth, just as Astrid's Nadder was about to be sucked in. Astrid was thrown off of Stormfly's back, screaming, and they dove after her. "Did'ja get her?" Hiccup yelled. Toothless gave an affirmative warble as he glanced at the girl in his paws.

They slowed to drop Astrid off with the amazed warriors watching the battle and order the other riders to the ground. "Alright Buddy, let's see if that thing can use it's wings!" Toothless narrowed his eyes and shot forward. They twisted around and, speeding over it, shot the Red Death in the shoulder hard enough to knock it over.

"Do you think that did it?" Hiccup asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Oh, it did it." Toothless replied grimly as the Red Death took off on enormous wings. They sped through a series of rock spires, only for the monster to simply barrel through them. Hiccup glanced up again.

"Time to disappear!" Hiccup's foot pressed on the pedal, and they were gone, rocketing up into the dark smoke above, with the demon hot on their tail. Hiccup cursed as they narrowly avoided a stream of fire not unlike a Nadder's. He glanced back again as the fire washed over Toothless' tail.

Then they were out of sight in the cool, dark mist, firing blast after blast at the Red Death's hovering form. It ran out of patience and released a wall of fire that seemed to swallow the sky. Hiccup pressed his face into Toothless's neck, his scaled cloak protecting him from the flames. "Okay, Toothless, we can't keep doing this forever. Let's end this!"

"What do you plan on doing?" Toothless wondered, shooting another sapphire fireball at the beast.

"Remember the first time we flew over the ocean?" Hiccup recalled, grinning maniacaly. Toothless understood immediately what his rider was getting at and smirked.

"Got it!" He folded his wings, roaring at the Red Death as they dove down past it. It's evil eyes narrowed and it snapped at them. When it missed, it folded it's own immense wings and let itself fall. They broke through the clouds first and heard the beast inhaling, ready to blast them into oblivion.

"Toothless, wait... Hold, Toothless... NOW!" He screamed, and they flipped over awkwardly, backs to the ground and fired a single blast straight into it's gas-filled mouth. It's eyes widened, fire streaming from it's gigantic mouth as it finally saw the unforgiving rock of the pebbly beach, and spread it's wings wide. As it tried to break it's fall, the relatively thin membrane of it's wings burned away, leaving it to explode as it hit the ground, roaring it's terrible fury as it did so.

Hiccup and Toothless barely had time to get out of the way. Hiccup glanced back as they dodged through the Red Death's spikes, wanting to see how close the flames were to catching up with them.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of Toothess's tail. "Oh no..." He whispered.

The prosthetic tailfin was completely engulfed in flames that licked at the thread holding the fireproof scales to the leather underneath. One by one, the dark scales were slipping away and more of the fin was consumed. It must have been on fire for some time, because most of the leather was exposed and nearly burnt through. Before Hiccup's eyes, the smouldering remains fell away and left them flightless.

He faced forwards again and screamed "NO!" The Red Death's club-like tail, swinging wildly in the monster's death throes, crashed down on them. Hiccup felt sudden pain in his leg as one of the monster's spikes scraped down the length of Toothless's left side, and everything went black.


	11. Eat Your Fish

Hiccup had been in a coma for around three weeks now, and his constant caretakers were Astrid and Toothless. At least she was taking the time to eat, Astrid thought with a sigh as she glanced at Toothless. The dragon had been curled around the bed the whole time, refusing to move away from his rider, not even to eat. He just stared at the unmoving figure of his friend, waiting for him to wake up.

Sometimes the Chief came and stared at his son, as if willing him to wake up, and the other teens had visited once as she re-bandaged what was left of Hiccup's left leg, which had been crushed horribly in the battle, but all went pale at the sight and left.

Astrid got up and offered him a fish. He shook his head at her and turned away. "Toothless, please... You have to eat something!" She pleaded, holding out the fish. He grunted stubbornly in reply, and Astrid dropped the fish and stormed back to her chair.

"Fine, if you won't eat, I don't care!" Toothless only whined and nudged Hiccup again, trying to wake him up.

She sighed again and got up, announcing, "I'm going outside." She pulled open the door and slid out, closing it behind her before turning to look out at the village with a small smile. There were dragons everywhere, both flying and on the ground, some even perched on rooftops.

Astrid ran to her own house to get her axe. She'd been behind on training recently and she wanted to make up for that. She stopped outside her door, however, when she heard her name inside. She put her ear to the door, curious.

"...So it's agreed upon, then?" Her mother's voice asked.

"Aye," Astrid realized with a jolt that that was the Chief's voice. What sort of agreement would require her parents make with him in private?

"Good, I'd better start Astrid on her dowry when she gets home, then." Astrid froze. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't get married now! She'd promised Hiccup that she'd live with him, if she was married, she couldn't go with him, and she'd be forced to break her promise.

"He'll want to forge the rings himself, of course..." Stoick's voice drifted through a crack in the door. She almost collapsed in relief at what that meant. She wasn't breaking her promise! Then she realized what that entailed. She was getting married. To Hiccup.

Astrid turned and ran. She had to tell someone. She found the twins wrestling behind their house. She made a fist and hit Tuffnut over the head. He collapsed, leaving her to smile pleasantly at Ruffnut.

"Um, what... Did you _want_ something?" Ruff asked awkwardly. Nobody had ever dared interrupt a fight between her and her brother.

"I have to tell you something!" Astrid grabbed her arm and dragged her off into the forest. She let go when they were several minutes out of earshot.

"What is so important that you had to drag me way out here for?" Ruffnut was confused. She and Astrid were best friends, and she knew by the way Astrid was biting her lip she wanted to tell her something girly. But what could be important enough to kidnap her for?

"My parents are arranging a marriage for me." Astrid announced nervously.

"What? With who?" Now she was surprised. Both of them had always thought Astrid would be a shieldmaiden all her life. "How did this happen? It better not be Snotlout! Oh, I get it, you want me to help you beat 'Lout up?"

"No, no!" Astrid said, gagging. "It's not Snotlout! It's Hiccup!"

"Wait." Ruffnut stared at her. "You're getting married to _Hiccup_. Astrid! You don't even really _know_ him, I mean, you've ignored him _all_ his life! I know you're attracted to him now, but-" She paused to stare at her friend. "...You're blushing, Astrid."

"I know, Ruff!" Astrid sat down. "It's just... He's cute now! Before he was just the scrawny idiot who ran away from me in training, but now his eyes are... They shine when he's happy, Ruff! And his hair, it-" She cut herself off and put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to think. What changed, Ruff?"

"Nothing. He looks just like he did before, except that now he's taller and he rides a Night Fury." Ruffnut answered simply, sitting down as well. "The only real difference is that you're noticing him now."

"But I'm not ready to get married," Astrid said in a small voice, lifting her head. "And what if _he_ doesn't want this?"

Ruffnut laughed. "You seriously never noticed, did you?"

"Notice what?" Astrid snapped, glaring. "Stop it, I'm trying to share my feelings!"

Ruff stopped laughing and explained. "He used to watch you from the forge window during raids, and he always got this _look_ on his face, like he was seeing a Valkyrie or something."

"Really?" Astrid asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, and when you kissed him that time in front of his dad, he got the same expression. Trust me, he likes you."

Astrid blushed harder, remembering that kiss. "I think... I think I like him, too." She admitted slowly. "But marriage? It's... It's all so soon!"

Ruffnut smirked. "And with marriage comes ceremony and tradition. When the Chief or the son of the Chief gets married, they have to go through a public consummation." She recited.

Astrid glared at her friend. "Thanks for reminding me, Ruff. Now I have another thing to panic about."

"Look at it this way, if you're both going to live on that island together, there'll be nobody around to hear you and Hiccup scream at night!" Ruffnut teased.

Astrid turned several interesting shades of red and stood, grumbling. "That's it, I'm going to talk to Stormfly instead. She needs to be fed anyway."

She stormed back to the village in search of her Nadder. She wandered around for a while, looking for her dragon, then gave up and walked back up the hill to Hiccup's house.

When she entered, Toothless didn't even raise his head. He just watched Hiccup, whining quietly. Astrid stared at her future husband for a while, then for the first time in over three years, she climbed the stairs to his room and looked around. It was exactly as she remembered, if a lot more dusty. There was paper everywhere, even tacked to the walls and ceiling. She bent down and picked up a dust-covered sketch from the ground.

She blew most of the dust off and her eyes went wide. It was her, axe poised to throw at some tree. She walked over to peer at another sketch, nailed to the wall. She didn't recognise the woman in the picture, but Stoick was standing beside her, and there was a boy about six years old in front of them with a smile on his face. She understood immediately that the woman was Hiccup's mother.

She remembered Valhallarama's funeral, vaguely. It was the only time, her parents had said, that their Chief had ever cried. Hiccup had been seven years old. So that sketch was drawn around a year before her death.

Astrid picked up another drawing. This one was of the Great Hall, during some feast or another. But the atmosphere of the page wasn't happy, despite all the smiling faces. She looked closer and realized that off to one side, in a corner, there was a small figure gazing miserably at a group of twelve year olds. It was Hiccup, watching her laughing at a table with the others. Astrid began to wonder why he hadn't left sooner.

She wandered around Hiccup's room for about an hour, quickly realizing that there was nothing of Toothless there. Hiccup must have taken them with him when he left. Most of what was there featured her in some way and she realized that Ruff was probably right about his crush on her. Astrid walked back downstairs to stare at him again.

His auburn hair was messy, some of it falling over his closed eyelids. She knew his eyes were the most brilliant forest green and tended to shine with emotion, and his smile always made her want to smile, too. Why had she ever ignored him?

"Toothless... Eat your fish. Please Toothless? You have to eat something!" The dragon refused to acknowledge either her or the fish she waved in front of his nose.

She sighed. "Toothless, if you don't eat your fish, you won't be strong enough to go flying when he wakes up." She pointed out. Before she could even finish the sentence, the fish was gone and the Night Fury was looking at her innocently.

She gave him a flat stare and left to get more fish.


	12. So Many Things

"Ugh..." Toothless snapped his head up. It had been about a week since he started eating again, and his rider's mate started acting weird. He looked around for the source of the noise, and was elated to realize it came from Hiccup.

He glanced quickly over at the chair where Astrid slept, exhausted, then warbled quietly at his rider. "Wake up, wake up, _wake up_!" As if to demonstrate, Toothless got up himself and bounded around the bed before leaning over his rider to nudge him awake if necessary.

Hiccup's eyes opened tiredly, and he smiled up at his excited dragon. "H-Hey, Toothless..." He was immediately covered in dragon slobber and he laughed. "Hey bud, I'm happy to see you too..."

The ecstatic dragon edged forward onto the bed as he licked and nudged his rider, accidentally stepping on his stomach. "Aww..." Hiccup forgot his pain as he sat up and realized his surroundings. "I'm... not in my house... This is my _dad's_ house... _You're_ in my dad's house... Wait, is that _Astrid_?" He looked confusedly at the girl sleeping in her chair.

"What's she doing here, bud?" He asked.

"Waiting for you to wake up," Toothless answered, jumping around the room, knocking things over with his tail as he went. "I was too, but now you're awake and we can go flying!" With that, the dragon leapt into the rafters to peer at Hiccup upside down.

"You were? How... How long was I asleep?" Hiccup wondered, starting to push the covers back.

"A _whole_ moon cycle!" Toothless dramatized, hopping down to pad over to his rider. "Can we go flying now? I didn't want to leave while you were asleep, so I haven't been outside since you were carried in here, and I really want to go flying now!"

Hiccup laughed. "Sure, buddy." Then he flung the covers off and froze. Where he'd fully expected to see his two healthy feet, he found only one, and a piece of metal where the other should have been. He took a deep breath.

"It.. She crushed it in the battle, it couldn't be saved..." Toothless told him sorrowfully. Hiccup's eyes widened as his memory came rushing back.

"Oh... Okay, I-I can deal with this... I can do this." He swung his good leg over the edge of the bed, then moved the other one. He carefully set the metal foot down on the floor, wincing at the odd sensation. It was _weird_ not being able to feel anything lower than his knee. He gripped the bedpost tightly as he stood, taking another deep breath, then took a step.

"That's it, Hiccup... Just like that!" Toothless encouraged. Hiccup took another step and his knee buckled. Toothless caught him before he could touch the floor.

"Thanks, bud." Hiccup was already panting from the exertion of exercising his malnourished body, and Toothless let him put most of his weight on him as they limped around the room a few times. "Okay... Okay. Bud, can I sit down now?" Toothless gently guided him back over to the bed.

"I'm going to wake your mate up now, okay Hiccup?" Toothless announced. Hiccup nodded, catching his breath. Toothless gave the sleeping girl a hard nudge, and she fell off the chair.

"Aaagh!" She cried. "Toothless! What was that for! I told you not to wake me up unless something important happened!" Hiccup grinned, watching her berate his dragon, who was pretending not to understand Norse.

"So I'm not something important?" He teased, laughing. Her head shot up and her eyes widened.

"Hiccup!" She leapt onto his bed and pulled him into a hug, clinging tightly to him. "You're awake!" If he didn't know better, he would have thought she was more excited than Toothless, Hiccup mused.

"Yeah... I'm awake... But, um... Can't breathe..." She pulled away with a smile, and he beamed at her. "So, um... What's new?" He asked, awkwardly.

"So many things..." Astrid grinned. "Your dad has accepted dragons into the village, you're a hero, and we're getting married."

Hiccup opened his mouth and closed it again. Then his mind settled on the last thing she'd said and he fainted.

When he came to a few minutes later, Toothless began his scolding as Astrid hovered anxiously over him. "Hiccup! Don't ever do that again! I thought you were going to sleep for another moon cycle!"

"It's okay, Toothless... What Astrid said shocked me, that's all." Hiccup explained, smiling. "So... _Us_, um... _Married_, huh?" He raised an eyebrow at Astrid. She nodded nervously, looking away.

"Yep... My parents arranged the contract with your dad last week." She glanced worriedly over at him, half expecting him to scowl and tell her he didn't want to get married to her.

"Oh. Okay. I just... Really didn't expect marriage..." He fidgeted awkwardly, and kept glancing between her and his new metal leg as if he couldn't decide which deserved his attention more. "I-I mean, you're _Astrid Hofferson,_ and I'm... I'm just the village idiot who ran away with a Night Fury." He settled for looking at his remaining foot dejectedly.

Toothless growled at his rider's self-hate, but waited for Astrid to correct him. She started by punching his shoulder.

Hiccup let his frustration and sadness rise, feeding his anger, and took it out on the first thing he could. "What was that for!?" He snapped, glaring at her. She looked into his eyes and held his arms firmly.

"Hiccup. You're clumsy, sarcastic, persistent, annoying, weak, scrawny, un-confident, and un-Vikingly, b-"

"Thank you." He interrupted, sarcastically. "Thank you, for summing that up."

She hardened her stare until he shut up, then continued. "But, you are also unique, devoted, intelligent, courageous, hard-working, modest, respectful, and cute." Astrid turned pink at the last word, but held her gaze.

"I... What?" Hiccup looked so flustered, she thought, as he processed what she'd said. "You think I'm _cute_?" She giggled at the bewildered expression on his face, blushing harder.

"_Yes_... Yeah, Hiccup. You are, and I thought you changed when you were gone, but then I asked Ruff, and she said you were the same and I really like it when you smile..." She stopped babbling as he smiled lopsidedly.

"Y'know, I think that's the first compliment I've ever gotten, Astrid."

She smiled shyly and stood up. "Come on, fishbone. Let's go outside, hmm?"

"Wha- Oh, okay." He winced as he put some of his weight on his new prosthetic. Toothless was quick to let him lean on him as they made their way to the heavy door.

Astrid paused before opening the door. "Whatever happens, don't freak out, okay Hiccup?" He nodded, and she swung the door open. The first thing he saw was a Nightmare, taking off from the Village.

Looking closer, he saw Snotlout on its back. Hiccup looked around, amazed at the transformation the village had been through while he was asleep. Dragons were perched on top of buildings, calling cheerfully to each other and the Vikings working in the streets, and helping Vikings with their daily chores.

It was the Vikings that spotted Hiccup first. They swarmed him with congratulations, grinning and laughing as Stoick pushed his way through the crowd to stand beside his son. "Well Hiccup, what do you think?"

"I... Wow, I never thought I'd see this..." Hiccup beamed as the dragons began landing around them to offer him their thanks in defeating Her. Soon enough, the Vikings had been pushed out of the little circle Hiccup was standing in, now talking excitedly to a Nadder. Stoick eventually left to make wedding preparations, as the date had been set for the day after whenever Hiccup woke up.

Astrid was dragged off by her mother to help pack her things for the trip to Hiccup's home.


	13. Tradition

The next morning found Astrid sitting in a washtub, blushing furiously as she listened to the advice of at least half of Berk's married women. "Now, he will expect you to keep up with the housework, dear, and rise early to make him breakfast, or he won't be happy." Her mother advised, dumping a bucket of warm water over her.

"Don't forget, if he wants to get in bed with you, don't protest. Please him, and he should do the same for you." One of her wedding attendants called. Astrid spluttered, though she couldn't imagine Hiccup forcing her in bed with him. Still, the mental imagery she got at the words 'get in bed with him' were enough to make her cheeks flame.

"Bear him strong, healthy children, and raise them well!" Ruffnut's mother, Thurid, grinned. Astrid wasn't sure if it was possible to blush harder than she was now.

"Remember, sweetie, you must have at least one son, to be the Hooligan Heir as your husband refuses to take the position himself." Astrid frowned at that, it was rare for a man to refuse his birthright in such a manner, though he'd already told her why, before the battle.

After a while, and a lot more advice, Ingrid finally declared her daughter purified and had her climb out of the tub only to be showered by one last bucket of water, cold this time, then was hustled back to her house wrapped in a towel.

Astrid's wedding dress was a simple affair, being just like the dresses Ruffnut had helped her sew for herself in all but colour. She carefully brushed her hair, leaving it to fall to just below her waist when she was done, as this would be the last time she would be allowed to wear it down in public.

She tried to ignore the fact that her normal clothing was already gone, thrown out or given away.

Staring at her reflection, she took a deep breath. "Mom, I'm ready." Ingrid turned from where she was directing the other women on moving Astrid's things to a ship.

"Not yet, dear. I have something for you." She left the room momentarily, coming back with the bridal crown she'd once worn on her own wedding. Gently, she placed it on her daughter's head and smiled. "There. Now you're ready."

Just then, Ruffnut walked in, smirking. "Hey, Astrid, your husband's waiting for you, hurry up!" She meant that Hiccup must have finished his own preparations, and the bride-price been paid already.

"Don't need to, I'm ready." Astrid replied, ready to get this over with. "So, how do I look?" She stood up and twirled around.

Ruffnut looked her over critically, then decided "You look... _Clean_, like you just had a bath." Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Besides that, Ruff." Ruffnut shook her head impatiently.

"You look fine. Come on, you don't want to miss your own wedding, do you?" Astrid huffed and made her way downstairs, where she was greeted by her older brother, Sven, who was holding the sword she was supposed to give Hiccup during the ceremony.

Her face lit up and she tackled him in a hug. Astrid hadn't really seen her brother since his own marriage about five years ago. She pulled away to ask, "_Sven_! What are you doing here?"

"I'm to escort you to the ceremony, Astrid, as your older brother and bearer of your husband's new sword." He said formally, grinning. Astrid smiled back at him.

"Well then, we'd best be going, lest we be late," She teased, copying the formality of his speech, making him scowl.

"You know I'd flick you if it wasn't your wedding, dearest sister." He complained, leading her out of the house.

"I know, Sven, that's why I'm teasing you _today_. You can't do anything about it." Astrid explained cheekily.

His face lit up and he smirked. "Oh, but I can, '_Striddy_. You know, you seem awfully excited to marry Hiccup... Would you happen to know why?" Astrid glared at him, but couldn't help her blush at the mention of Hiccup.

"Well... He's Hiccup. He's always been different, and... I feel like I can just be myself in front of him, instead of the tough warrior girl I am in front of the rest of the village... And he's so nice, and he's funny, he can't hide anything from me..." She blushed, thinking of his beautiful eyes. "His house is on a different island, and we'd be the only ones there, so I won't have to wear my hair up as much. The island has lots of trees.. Hey, you've been there, Sven, you know why it's perfect."

He chuckled and nodded. "You like him, don't you, 'Striddy?"

Astrid turned pink. "I might..." She muttered. As an afterthought, she added, "And stop calling me 'Striddy'!"

"No!" He cried, laughing. "I'm going to call you 'Striddy all day because you're moving to a different island and I won't see you as much."

She rolled her eyes. "Hiccup rides a Night Fury, Sven, visiting isn't so much of a problem."

They stopped talking as the village square came into sight. Stoick had arranged for the ceremony to take place there, so everyone could watch, even the dragons. The Vikings parted to let the two of them through, and she blushed at the awed expression Hiccup got when he caught sight of her.

He was wearing a dark purple tunic with his usual cloak, pants, and boots. There was a somewhat rusty sword strapped to his hip on one side, and a hammer on the other. His hair stuck up defiantly, and his eyes... Astrid almost lost her thoughts in those eyes at that moment, but was distracted by his wonderful lopsided smile.

Then she realized that she'd already closed the distance and stopped beside him. The elder began to speak, inciting the gods' interest, though neither her nor Hiccup were paying much attention, just staring at each other. Toothless, who was sitting behind Hiccup, laughed at the awed expressions they were wearing, though he quieted when Hiccup whispered something to him from the corner of his mouth.

She was beginning to get tired of standing there when the elder finally motioned for them to exchange their swords.

Hiccup unbuckled the sword hanging on his belt as Sven handed her the sword he'd been holding for her. Hiccup also brought out a small pouch, fishing around in it for a second before finding the thing he wanted. Secretively, he passed her a plain gold band, keeping the other, more intricate band for the moment.

Astrid balanced the ring he'd given her on the hilt of her sword, as he did the same. Smiling at each other, he gave her his sword, along with the ring, pushing it gently onto her finger. Astrid copied the action for him, passing the sword he'd given her to her brother.

Hiccup put his hand over hers as he began to speak. "Astrid... I can't promise everything will be perfect, but I can vow to you, my wife, that as your husband and Rider of a Night Fury, you will always have mine and Toothless' protection, not that you really need it, I can promise I will always treat you as an equal, and I will always love and care for you... Astrid... You're so beautiful..."

Astrid beamed at him. "Hiccup, I never asked for perfection, I like things just fine the way they are now. I vow to you, my husband, that I will always care for you as a proper wife should, treat you as my equal, and always be faithful to you."

The elder finally declared them married, and Astrid took off running for the Great Hall. The race, she thought, was definitely her favorite part of the ceremony.

Then she heard pounding feet to her right. She glanced over to see Stoick the Vast carrying his son like he had when Hiccup was little. Hiccup grinned at her, looking perfectly ridiculous, and waved as Stoick overtook her. She kept up her sprint, however, as the last one to the Mead Hall had to serve everyone else.

Astrid made it to the Hall ahead of most of the village, having trained herself to sprint for long distances, and had to wait for everyone to catch up so they could watch Hiccup help her over the threshold. It was a stupid tradition, really, but it was important. If she tripped, the marriage was cursed. If she didn't, it was blessed.

As the last straggler finally slowed to a stop to watch, Hiccup took her hand and helped her through the door. She did not trip.

Astrid smiled, and he grinned back before being led off to plunge his sword into a nearby pillar. It went all the way in, to not only his, but her delight as well. The deeper the sword went, the luckier the marriage was to be.

As everyone milled around, laughing and drinking mead, Astrid grabbed Hiccup and led him to the table the teens always sat at. "You stay here, I have to serve you bridal ale."

He nodded, sitting down. A few minutes later, Astrid returned with the ale to find the other teens all around him.

Hiccup seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, but then he spotted her and grinned, drunk on the thought that she was his wife. "Astrid! There you are! I was just telling Snotlout how I'm so lucky you're my wife now, and I'm so happy, and being married is great..." Soon, she thought, he'd be drunk on the honey-mead they were supposed to share for the next month.

Sitting down beside him, she handed him the fancy goblet of honey-mead. He took a sip and passed it back to her, then unbuckled the hammer on his belt and laid it on her lap.

She took a sip of mead and gave it back, and they continued like that until the goblet was empty. Astrid felt a bit tipsy now, but her new husband was fine, not at all drunk despite having drank just as much as Astrid. "So, how're you doin'?" She asked suddenly, turning to Ruffnut, who was on the other side of Hiccup, and inadvertently interrupting another twin fight.

"Oh, I'm good... How's being married to Hiccup?" Ruff replied, shoving her brother away into a blubbering Snotlout, who was busy drinking as much as he could, to 'bury the sadness of losing Astrid to his fishbone cousin'.

"What... What am I gonna do now? The hottest girl our age is movin' away... An', an', an'... There's only gonna be one girl our age, an' she's crazy!" Tuffnut glared at him as he chugged his mead.

"Dude, that's my sister you're talking about!" He launched himself at the other boy, both of them already more than slightly drunk. That wasn't too surprising, but then Fishlegs got involved, saying that Ruff was NOT crazy, and that they shouldn't say she was because she was pretty and scary and she could beat them both up if she wanted, and the two, plus Ruffnut, turned to stare at him.

"Oh, it's jus' great!" Astrid exclaimed, turning to hug Hiccup. He blushed and stuttered a bit, before just wrapping his arms around her. "But we have t' have sex in public," She confided to Ruffnut's back.

"Woah, wait, _what_?" Hiccup pulled away from the hug to stare at her. "There's a public consummation?" Astrid nodded.

"Duh... You're th' son of the Chief, of course there is!" She smiled brightly at him as he grabbed someone's mug and downed the contents.

"Oh no, no _no_, there is not, there is _no way_ I will... I'm not doing... _That_, in front of my father!" He protested, going bright red at the thought of doing_ that_ with Astrid, public consummation or no. She stared at him for a moment and he took the opportunity to chug another mug of ale.

"Then where will we do that..?" Astrid wondered.

"I guess we'd consummate at my house, we can get Toothless to fly us. That way, we can get there hours before anyone else." They were both red now. Astrid nodded, sobering a little.

"That sounds good, but we should probably leave now, before I'm dragged away to get ready." She grinned as his eyes went wide.

"Wha-Now? Like, right away now?" He stared at her, and she nodded again. "Wait, can I get drunk first?" She rolled her eyes and grabbed another mug of ale for him.

"Yeah, come on. Lets do this, okay?" He stuttered out a reply as she dragged him outside, pausing to wave at the other teens before heading out the door.


	14. The End

Hiccup woke up the next morning in confusion. He was in his own bed, and there seemed to be someone beside him..? It wasn't Toothless, he preferred his own bed. Hiccup opened his eyes blearily, realizing he must have gotten a little drunk, and turned his head to look at the mystery person sleeping beside him.

Everything came rushing back, and his eyes widened. Had he _really_ done _that_ with _Astrid_, or was it all a dream? But the sleeping girl's presence beside him told him he had. "'Strid? Astrid, wake up, it's time to get up, Astrid, come on..." He shook her gently, and she groaned before blinking open her own eyes.

"Morning, Hiccup..." She closed her eyes, frowned as she realized where she was, and what state she was in, and her eyes snapped open again. "_Hiccup._ Would you mind telling me why we're in a _bed_... _Together,_ with no _clothes_?" She asked in a dangerous voice. It seemed that she'd been a _little_ more drunk than him.

"We're married, Astrid, remember? And I think there's a fairly good chance of waking up like this again." He grinned sleepily, recalling how wonderful the night before had been.

"Oh... _Oh_. I remember now. Okay, Hiccup. Wake me up at dawn, please..." Astrid yawned and buried her head in the pillow. Hiccup glanced at the window. Sure enough, there was bright sunlight streaming through the blinds to light one of the rather numerous sketches on the wall.

"Astrid... It's _past_ dawn." He informed her, sitting up. She groaned, but opened her eyes again. Hiccup twisted to see whether his prosthetic was on his side of the bed or not and heard a small gasp. "What?" He asked, turning back to Astrid. She was staring at him, eyes glued to his exposed chest and stomach. He followed her gaze and felt his cheeks heat up.

He pulled the furs up self consciously, looking away. Behind him, Astrid frowned, sitting up as well, though she made sure to keep her own chest well covered. "Hiccup, there's nothing to be ashamed of," She told him gently.

He glanced at her, then looked down. "Sure there is. I'm skinny, weak, I'm missing a-"

"Hiccup!" Astrid interrupted, punching his arm. "Stop being self-conscious. You know what I think? You're_ not_ cute, after all. You're beautiful." Her cheeks turned bright red, but she continued to stare him down as he blinked in obvious surprise.

"I'm- I'm_ what_? Guys aren't _supposed_ to be beautiful!" He wailed, though he was grinning lopsidedly as he did. As he continued to pretend to be horrifyingly insulted, the blanket started to slip, Astrid's eyes following until she couldn't take it anymore. She lunged, disregarding the furs covering her chest, and captured his lips with hers as she pushed him down onto his back.

They might have had a repeat of the night before, had Toothless not returned from a rather successful hunting trip at that moment. The dragon trotted in proudly and dropped his kill on the floor. "I'm back! And I brought breakfast, too!"

"Toothless! How many times do I have to tell you, no food in the bedroom!" Hiccup reprimanded in Dragonese, sitting up to stare at his dragon sternly. Astrid sat back, watching the two communicate, and frowned. She wanted to be a part of that, too.

"But where else can I eat?" Toothless flicked an ear at his rider. "Just go back to your mating already, why don't you." Hiccup spluttered, going bright red, as Toothless looked on amusedly.

"Not with you watching, Toothless, this is _private_! Between Astrid and I! No one else! You can eat outside! Or in the other room!" Hiccup made shooing motions with his hands. Toothless laughed, but slunk out of the room anyway. Hiccup lay back down and turned his head to stare at his wife lovingly. She was looking thoughtfully at the door, and he grinned. She was so beautiful.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, and she smiled at him, taking his hand to draw circles on it.

"I was just wondering how hard it is to learn Dragonese." She said thoughtfully. "I might want to learn it," she continued, glancing at him. He grinned, having meant to teach her at some point anyway.

"It's not that hard, all I did was give Toothless a word in Norse, and he would repeat it back in Dragonese, and I would copy him. The only difficult thing is figuring out what other dragon species use for certain words. Not all of them use the same ones." Hiccup explained.

"Okay... So will you teach me?" Astrid asked expectantly. He smiled, nodding.

"Of course!" He turned away to see if he could find his foot, having been distracted from his earlier attempt to locate the device. "Hey, Astrid, have you seen my, um... _Foot_?" He mumbled the last word, embarrassed.

"Um, I think it's on my side. Here, let me check," Astrid turned to peer over the edge of the mattress. "Yeah, I see it." Hiccup didn't respond, too busy staring at her bare back. She was all curves, and there was so much skin... He got an overwhelming urge to continue what Toothless had interrupted. Then she turned, and he managed a strangled squeak as her muscles moved under the skin. She smirked, and that was the last straw.

He pulled himself against her, and a very heated kissing session began, though the sound of Toothless' laughter from the other room stopped them from going any further.

Needless to say, it took them a while to get dressed, and it was almost noon when they finally emerged from their bedroom.

"Well, this is home," Hiccup said, gesturing around him at the cluttered area that was his kitchen, living room, and dining room all at once. Predictably enough, Hiccup had decorated the walls with sketches, and there were bits of machinery resting on a small table in the corner. Astrid smiled as she looked around. It was all so... _Hiccup_.

"What's up there?" She wondered, pointing at a rope ladder that led up through the ceiling. Hiccup smiled again.

"Oh, just the deck," He replied nonchalantly. "It's sort of a second porch, except up off the ground. There's a covered outdoor eating area up there, too."

"Wow... Hiccup, this is amazing!" Astrid exclaimed, quickly scaling the ladder to see the deck for herself.

"I'm going to have to make a new ladder though," Hiccup noted. "I don't think I can climb this one anymore, with a metal leg."

"So long as you stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Astrid sang. Hiccup grinned at the carefree note in her voice.

When he'd left so long ago, he thought to himself, he had never imagined things turning out like this, living with Toothless, married to the girl of his dreams... But he was so happy, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

THE END.

(Just so you know)

* * *

**Hey, so apparently Ragnarök is upon us, 'cuz I've decided to publish this chapter early. My school is putting on a production of Grease, as well as Aladdin, and I'm not sure how capable I am of remembering to publish on Thursday morning when I have to be at the theater until 10 PM the night before. Yes, this _is_ the last chapter, and I wanted to thank everybody reading and reviewing for being wonderful. :) Gods, I'm bad at writing Author's Notes, aren't I? I can't think of anything to say! Um, so anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it. :D**


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